Sixty percent of Americans, including 75 percent of children, had been exposed to the coronaviruses by February, federal health officials reported on Tuesday.
Much of the toll was caused by the Omicron variant. According to new research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as the variant began to spread, only half of the people had an indication of previous infections.
The numbers came as a shock to many Americans, but some scientists said they had expected the figures to be even higher because of the spread of the disease over the past two years.
Some experts said there may be good news in the data. A gain in population-wide immunity may offer some protection against future waves. The surge in China and many other countries in Europe has been subdued in the United States.
There will be less and less severe disease, and more and more a shift toward clinically mild disease, as a result of a high percentage of previous infections.
He said that it will be more difficult for the virus to do serious damage.
Administration officials believe that the data will lead to a new phase of the Pandemic in which infections may be common at times but cause less harm.
The White House's new Covid coordinators said at a news briefing that stopping infections was not a policy goal. The goal of our policy is to make sure people don't get seriously ill.
The New York Times database shows that the number of confirmed new cases in the United States is comparable to levels last seen in late July.
Dr. Jha and other officials urged Americans to continue getting vaccinations and booster shots, saying that the vaccine's effectiveness was not guaranteed by previous infections.
According to the new research, infections rose most sharply among children and adolescents during the Omicron surge. Adults over the age of 65 who have the highest rates of vaccinations are more likely to take precautions.
Evidence of previous Covid-19 infections substantially increased among every age group, according to the researcher who led the new study.
A potential increase in cases of long Covid, a poorly understood constellation of symptoms, is a troubling prospect.
Up to 30 percent of people with the coronaviruses may have persistent symptoms, including changes to the brain and heart. Vaccination is thought to lower the odds of long Covid.
Bill Hanage, an epidemiologist at the Harvard T.H., said that the long-term impacts on health care are not clear but are worth taking very seriously.
Millions of people would be affected by a small percentage of people who develop Covid.
While the focus is often on preventing the health care system from collapsing under a surge, we should also be concerned that our health care system will be overwhelmed by the ongoing health care needs of a population with long Covid.
Tom Inglesby is the director of the Center for Health Security and he said that there are tens of millions of Americans with no immunity to the virus.
He said that it was a big gamble to bet that you were in the 60 percent.
Although cases are on the rise again in the Northeast, the rise in hospitalizations and deaths has not increased. 98% of Americans live in communities with a low or medium level of risk, according to the agency's most recent criteria.
We haven't seen any increase in deaths associated with those who are hospitalized.
Tracking new cases has become difficult because of the five-fold drop in P.C.R testing since the Omicron peak. Dr. Walensky said that the reported count is 70 times lower.
The previous iteration of Omicron, called BA.1, began circulating in the country in late November and sent cases soaring to record highs in a matter of weeks.
Dr. Hanage said that more have been infections now that BA.2 will have infections of some who avoided it thus far.
Three of four children and adolescents in the country had been exposed to the virus by February, compared with one-third of older adults, according to a new study.
Parents of children aged 5 and under who do not qualify for vaccine may be reassured by the fact that so many of their children are carrying antibodies.
Parents should immunize their children if regulators approve a vaccine for them, regardless of their previous infections. Up to 30 percent of hospitalized children may need intensive care.
About 70% of cases of multisystem inflammatory disease occur in children who are otherwise healthy.
Even if a child has been exposed to a vaccine, I would encourage them to get it.
Some experts are concerned about the long-term consequences of mild symptoms in children.
Akiko Iwasaki, an immunologist at Yale University, is concerned about the rise in long Covid cases as a result of the high proportion of infections in kids and adults this year.
The percentage of the population that was exposed to the virus was measured by the presence of the antibodies produced in response to the infection.
C.D.C. researchers began assessing people's antibody levels at 10 sites early in the Pandemic, and have since expanded that effort to all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. For at least one to two years after exposure, the investigators used a test that was sensitive enough.
The researchers looked at blood samples from September to February of this year to see if there was any resistance to the virus. The investigators did not look for a type of antibody after vaccination.
Between September and December of 2021, the prevalence of antibodies in the samples increased by one to two percentage points every four weeks. After December, it increased by 25 points.
Among children aged 11 years and younger, the percentage of samples with antibodies rose from 45 percent to 75 percent, and among adolescents aged 12 to 17 years, the percentage rose from 45 percent to 75 percent.
About 64 percent of adults aged 18 to 49 years, about 50 percent of those aged 50 to 64 years, and 33 percent of older adults had been exposed to the disease by February 2022, according to the study.
The reported statistics may not have captured all infections because some people may not have opted for testing or may have tested themselves at home.
There may be more than three infections for each reported case according to one upcoming C.D.C. study.
Noah reported from Washington.
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