Adults aged 20 to 49 are the largest distributors of COVID-19 in the United States, according to British researchers who say targeting this age group for vaccination could speed up school reopening.
A team at Imperial College London used mobile phone data from more than 10 million people to estimate that 65 out of 100 infections still originated in people aged 20 to 49 in the US.
People in this age group were found to account for approximately 72% of cases after schools reopened in October. Less than 5 percent came from children and less than 10 percent from adolescents.
Adults ages 35 to 49 accounted for 41 percent of new cases by mid-August, compared to 35 percent of adults ages 20 to 34, according to the peer-reviewed study published in Science.
“We find that adults between the ages of 20 and 49 are the main driver of the COVID-19 epidemic in the United States and are the only age groups that contribute disproportionately to its spread, in relation to population size, ”said Dr. Melodie Monod of Imperial College.
“While children and adolescents contribute more to the spread of COVID-19 since school closure mandates were lifted in the fall of 2020, we find that these dynamics have not changed substantially since the reopening of the school. “, added.
Dr. Oliver Ratmann, of the university, said: “We believe this study is important because it shows that adults between the ages of 20 and 49 are the only age groups that have kept COVID-19 constantly widespread in the United States. despite large variations in the scale and timing of local epidemics.
“Therefore, at least where highly transmissible variants have not been established, additional interventions targeting the 20-49 age group could control resurgent epidemics and prevent deaths,” he added.
Meanwhile, a new study suggests that coronavirus antibodies last at least six months after infection for most people who contracted the bug.
Research from the UK Biobank found that 99% of participants who tested positive for the previous infection retained antibodies for three months after being infected, while 88% did so for the full six months of infection. the study, according to Sky News.
“This important study has revealed that the vast majority of people retain detectable antibodies for at least six months after coronavirus infection,” said Professor Naomi Allen, UK chief scientist at the Biobank.
“While we can’t be sure how this relates to immunity, the results suggest that people may be protected from later infection for at least six months after the natural infection,” Allen said.
“Prolonged monitoring will allow us to determine how long this protection is likely to last,” he added.