More than half of Americans have had Covid, including three of four children

Three out of four children show signs of a previous Covid-19 infections, according to a new report.

Researchers from the CDC looked at blood samples from more than 200,000 Americans and found that many of them had infections. The Omicron variant surged through the US between December and February, and they found that signs of past infections rose dramatically.

The US is working to make Covid drugs more widely available.

34% of Americans had signs of prior infections in December. Just two months later, 42% did.

I expected it to increase. I didn't expect it to increase so much, said Dr Kristie Clarke, co-leader of a CDC team that tracks the extent of coronaviruses infections.

The most significant increase was in children. The percentage of those under the age of 17 with antibodies went from 45% in December to 75% in February.

Older people are less likely to have evidence of past infections. Older adults may be more likely to take other precautions, such as wearing masks and avoiding crowds, because of their higher vaccination rates.

There was a huge surge in reported cases in December and January. The daily case counts have been increasing in recent weeks.

The case numbers are thought to be undercount, but officials think recent increases reflect a true rise in infections. Many Covid-19 infections are mild enough that patients don't bother with lab tests. The CDC plans to release a study that estimates there were three infections for every reported case in the last few months.

US health officials say they have seen two weeks of increases in Covid-19 hospitalizations, though the numbers remain relatively low. The CDC reported a 9% increase in hospital admissions in the previous week.

There is evidence that offers reason to be hopeful about the situation.

Dr Rochelle Walensky, CDC director, said on Tuesday that they are not anticipating more severe disease from some of the subvariants.

The study didn't distinguish how many people had protective levels of antibodies. Scientists are trying to understand what role these kinds of antibodies play in protecting against future virus exposures.

Americans are urged to get vaccines and boosters to protect them against Covid-19.

The AP reported.