You. Don’t. Say:
A new analysis of blood samples from 24,000 Americans taken early last year is the largest study to suggest the coronavirus popped up in the U.S. in December 2019. https://t.co/hrLqq9KhIb
— Arizona Daily Star (@TucsonStar) June 15, 2021
This means the virus was already infecting people “weeks before cases were first recognized by health officials”:
Thousands of new blood samples suggest COVID-19 popped up in the U.S. in December 2019 — weeks before cases were first recognized by health officials. https://t.co/44ZN3Q4crI
— FOX26Houston (@FOX26Houston) June 15, 2021
The blood samples were found in 5 diverse states far away from New York and Washington, including Wisconsin, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Mississippi and Massachusetts:
The coronavirus might have been in the U.S. as early as December 2019, weeks before the first confirmed infection, a new study found. But some experts question the results.https://t.co/YMPeF8V9as
— The New York Times (@nytimes) June 15, 2021
More from the WSJ:
The Covid-19 virus infected people in five U.S. states in December 2019 and early 2020 before those states reported their first cases, according to a large new government study, providing new insights into the first, unseen weeks of the nation’s deadly epidemic.
Scientists analyzing blood samples taken for a National Institutes of Health research program identified seven people in states from Mississippi to Wisconsin to Pennsylvania who were infected with the new virus days or weeks before the first cases were confirmed in their areas. At least a couple had mild symptoms.
Their findings were published online by the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases Tuesday.
Two samples, one taken from a person from Illinois and another from a person from Massachusetts, date to Jan. 7 and 8, 2020, respectively, the researchers said. Antibodies found in the samples appear about two weeks after a person has been infected, the researchers said.
The number of Covid-19 cases found in the frozen, stored blood samples is small, suggesting the early cases in the U.S. were sporadic.
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