True Number Of COVID Cases Could Be 10 Times Higher

NPR: Coronavirus Infections Far Higher Than Confirmed But Most Americans Still Not Exposed 
Coronavirus infections in the United States are far higher than what has been confirmed, although the number of Americans who have been exposed is far below what is required for widespread immunity, according to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data appeared on both the CDC website and in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine on Tuesday. (Slotkin, 7/21)

Stat: Actual Covid-19 Case Count Could Be 6 To 24 Times Higher, Per CDC Study
The study, published Tuesday in JAMA Internal Medicine, relied on serological tests — blood screens that search for antibodies to the virus and that determine whether someone was previously infected. ... Overall, an estimated 1% of people in the San Francisco Bay Area have had Covid-19, while 6.9% of people in New York City have, according to the paper’s authors, who included researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state health departments. In seven of the 10 sites, the estimated number of cases was 10 times the number of reported cases. (Joseph, 7/21)

ABC News: Actual Coronavirus Infections May Be 10 Times Higher Than Officials Estimate, Study Reveals
The study is "corroborating other smaller studies previously done" that show "the infection was much more widespread than we thought," said John Brownstein, an epidemiologist and professor of biomedical informatics at Harvard Medical School. The CDC's most recent estimate is that about 40% of infections come from people who don't show symptoms. That means people who are asymptomatic carriers of the virus may play a large role in community transmission (the spread of the virus through an unknown source in a particular area). (Misra, 7/21)

The New York Times: C.D.C. Data Shows U.S. Coronavirus Infections Much Higher Than Reported 
The number of people infected with the coronavirus in different parts of the United States was anywhere from two to 13 times higher than the reported rates for those regions, according to data released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The findings suggest that large numbers of people who did not have symptoms or did not seek medical care may have kept the virus circulating in their communities. (Mandavilli, 7/21)

In related news, health experts urge standardized data collection —

The Washington Post: Resolve To Save Lives Recommends 15 Essential Covid-19 Indicators For States To Report 
Six months after the first coronavirus case appeared in the United States, most states are failing to report critical information needed to track and control the resurgence of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, according to an analysis released Tuesday by a former top Obama administration health official. The analysis is the first comprehensive review of covid-19 data that all 50 states and Washington, D.C., are using to make decisions about policies on mask-wearing and opening schools and businesses. In the absence of a national strategy to fight the pandemic, states have had to develop their own metrics for tracking and controlling covid-19. But with few common standards, the data are inconsistent and incomplete, according to the report released by Resolve to Save Lives, a New York nonprofit led by former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Tom Frieden and part of the global health organization Vital Strategies. (Sun, 7/21)

CIDRAP: As Shutdowns Loom, Report Says Poor COVID-19 Data Hampered US Response
A report today overseen by former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Tom Frieden, MD, argues that incomplete and inconsistent COVID-19 data from states, along with the absence of national leadership, is behind the poor US response to COVID-19. The report comes as CDC data suggest that the number of people infected with the coronavirus in different parts of the country is likely far higher than the number of reported cases. (Dall, 7/21)