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Among those who have not yet contracted the Corona virus, there are quite a few people who think that Corona may have passed once without even knowing it.

There was also a prediction that the actual number of people infected with the coronavirus would be much higher than the officially counted patients, but the results of the first investigation into this in the United States came out.



More details will be provided by medical reporter Dong-chan Cho.



<Reporter> This



is the report of the American Academy of Pediatrics.



Of the 75.2 million children and adolescents under the age of 17, 12.99 million, or 17%, have so far contracted the coronavirus.



In this way, natural infection produces N-neutralizing antibodies, and when vaccinated, S-neutralizing antibodies are produced.



When the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) surveyed 86,000 people under the age of 17 for N-neutralizing antibodies, a whopping 74% were found.



It was estimated that the number of actual infected people was more than four times that of confirmed people.



The highest rate was 77% for those aged 5-11, 74% for those aged 12 to 17, and 68% for those under 4, indicating that at least 3 out of 4 children and adolescents were infected.



Because the secondary vaccination rate was low, it was vulnerable to infection, and because the symptoms were so light that the test was not performed, there were far more hidden infections than expected.



In Korea, the rate of infection under the age of 19 is 50% according to official statistics.



[Lee Geun-Hwa/Professor of Microbiology at Hanyang University: However, looking at this study, (Omicron) the severity, that is, the hospitalization rate, is not as high as when the delta was prevalent.] As the number



of actual infections increases, the fatality rate decreases.



However, there are other indicators to watch out for.



The World Health Organization estimated the number of indirect deaths in addition to the official deaths during the pandemic.



As of December 31, 2021, there were 5,563 corona deaths in Korea for two years.



Professor Oh Myeong-don of Seoul National University Hospital analyzed that many people died from other diseases while concentrating their limited medical resources on Corona.



The actual number of corona infected was much higher, and the fact that there were as many non-corona deaths as there were corona deaths must be taken into account when making measures for infectious diseases in the future.



(Video coverage: Kang Dong-cheol, video editing: Park Ji-in, CG: Kang Yu-ra·Kim Hong-sik)