BOSTON (WHDH) - A recent study that evaluated community exposure to COVID-19 through a representative sampling of asymptomatic Boston residents found that 10 percent tested positive for antibodies and nearly 3 percent tested positive for coronavirus, officials announced Friday.
One in 10 residents in the study had developed coronavirus antibodies and about one in 40 asymptomatic individuals were positive for COVID-19 and potentially infectious, Mayor Martin J. Walsh, Massachusetts General Hospital, and the Boston Public Health Commission said in a joint news release.
“We can draw two preliminary conclusions from the results of this study. First, that the actions we took early on in this pandemic made a real difference in slowing the spread and, second, that the majority of our population still have not been exposed to the virus,” Walsh said. “This underscores what we already know, that we have to move cautiously and stay focused on what got us this far. This can be done by a gradual, phased-in approach to reopening that includes clear health criteria and safety guidelines for each industry and depends on testing and hospital metrics reaching certain benchmarks, and continuing to move in the right direction.”
More than 5,000 residents living in East Boston, Roslindale, and Dorchester were invited to voluntarily participate in the study, with total outreach representing more than 55 percent of people of color, officials said. A total of 750 residents enrolled in the study and received the required testing. Residents with symptoms or a previously positive COVID-19 test were disqualified.
Baseline demographics of the 750 participants were as follows:
- Median age is 42.4 years old
- 61.6% are female, 38.3% male
- 36.8% are from Roslindale, 25.1% are from East Boston, 23.2% are from 02125 in Dorchester and 14.9% are from 02121 in Dorchester
- 62% are white, 18.7% are Black/African-American, 12% are Latinx/Hispanic, 2.3% are Asian/Pacific Islander and .13% are American Indian/Alaska Native. 1.6% preferred not to say and 1.6% are unknown. There were no significant differences in COVID-19 or antibody rates by race or ethnicity in this sample.
Prevalence of COVID-19 positivity in currently asymptomatic individuals ranged from 1.1% to 4.6%, while antibody positivity ranged from 6.3% to 13.3% by zip code.
- East Boston: 1.1% tested positive for COVID-19, 13.3% tested positive for antibodies
- Roslindale: 2.2% tested positive for COVID-19, 7.6% tested positive for antibodies
- 02121 in Dorchester: 2.7% tested positive for COVID-19, 6.3% tested positive for antibodies
- 02125 in Dorchester: 4.6% tested positive for COVID-19, 12.1% tested positive for antibodies
“Making sound decisions about safely reopening requires that we understand how extensively the virus has already spread in our community,” said Peter L. Slavin, MD, president of Massachusetts General Hospital. “The testing that the teams from Boston and the MGH conducted shows that approximately 90 percent of the city’s residents have not yet been exposed to the virus. We also know that COVID-19 will be with us for a while.”
Testing was conducted at three drive-through testing sites in East Boston, Roslindale and Dorchester.
Testing for COVID-19 virus is done by means of a swab of the nose and determines if you have the infection. Antibody testing is done by means of blood drawn through a finger prick and detects whether your blood has antibodies that are present when the body is responding to an infection, like COVID-19.
Any Boston resident who tested positive for the COVID-19 virus or the COVID-19 antibodies was provided with clear guidance and information on how to care for themselves and those around them.
Through the Boston Resiliency Fund, $1.24 million has been dedicated to expand COVID-19 testing and conduct culturally appropriate outreach and education at 17 community health centers in Boston neighborhoods.
A full map of testing sites is available here.
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