Antibody study reveals 1 in 5 residents may have contracted and recovered from COVID-19
ALBANY, Ga. – COVID-19 hit Dougherty County hard in March and April. The area ranked high globally for the number of cases and deaths during that time. And due to the high rate of infection that Dougherty County experienced, the area was sought after by Augusta University to undergo an antibody study this past September to get a better understanding of just how many people contracted the novel virus.
“Many people have the virus and exhibit little or symptoms, the antibody testing would be a way to verify how many people actually had contracted the virus,” says Albany Mayor Bo Dorough.
A total of 613 residents participated in the study and out of that sample size, 132 tested positive for COVID-19 antibodies. Analyzing this against the county’s population would suggest 1 in 5 residents have experienced and recovered from COVID-19.
“If this is representative of the total population of Dougherty County it would suggest that almost 19,000 people have had COVID-19.”
The results from the study go on to suggest that a little over 21% of Dougherty County’s population may have contracted and recovered from the novel virus.
Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas says, “The number of percent positive being 21.53% was a very, very high number for this community in comparison to many other communities.”
Although there is much to learn about COVID-19 antibodies, local leaders say that having such a high number of people with the antibodies could prevent another surge of cases.
