The majority of children in Minnesota have already been infected with COVID-19, according to new data from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC estimates 82% of Minnesota children, ages 6 months to 17 years, have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. The CDC’s antibody seroprevalence survey, which was updated this week, is based on blood samples submitted in May and June for medical tests.

The survey estimates that 1.035 million children in Minnesota have had one or more SARS-CoV-2 infections.

That’s higher than the national percentage, with the CDC noting 79.7% of all U.S. children have had COVID-19.

The CDC says this survey doesn’t necessarily show how many people have enough antibodies to protect them against reinfection, severe outcomes, or COVID-19 complications, it just estimates the percentage of children and teens with detectable antibodies.

Meanwhile, the CDC’s adult antibody seroprevalence survey shows about 94.7% of those 16 and older in most of Minnesota (all but north-central and northeastern Minnesota) and northwestern Wisconsin have developed antibodies against the virus that causes COVID-19, either from vaccination or infection.

The level of COVID-19 in Minnesota has shown little change over the past month, hovering around 1,400 new cases per day, though it has started to dip a bit. The latest COVID-19 data from the Minnesota Department of Health says the seven-day moving average as of Aug. 15 is 1,160 cases daily.

The Metropolitan Council’s wastewater monitoring for COVID-19 shows the viral load has been on the decline. For the week of Aug. 2-8, the total viral load decreased by 1%, with the Met Council noting the total viral load has varied over a very narrow range since May 31, with weekly average values staying within 10% of the mean value for the period.

Nationally, the daily average number of new COVID-19 cases in the United States has been trending downward, but more than 98,000 new cases are still being reported daily. The daily average number of deaths from COVID-19 is 398, while the daily average for new hospital admissions is 5,845.

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