A recent study shows that just four per cent of Canadians developed antibodies due to exposure to COVID-19, and among them were a large proportion of people who were never tested for the virus and who never developed symptoms.
Statistics Canada released the results of data collected between November of 2020 and April of 2021.
Memorial University Professor of Immunology Michael Grant says the study showed that a small fraction of the overall Canadian population has been infected with COVID-19.
The data also shows, however, that people can become infected with COVID and spread it to others without even knowing they had it. More people between the ages of 19 and 50 had antibodies than those over 60, up to a third of whom were never tested and never experienced any symptoms.
“People can be walking around an infected and have no signs of infection,” Grant says of the latest results.
The data also indicated that younger Canadians are more at risk because their circles of contacts are much bigger.
Meanwhile, numbers released this week show that the overall known global death toll from COVID-19 has surpassed the 4-million mark, rising in large part due to new and more dangerous variants.
