Coronavirus was in US by December 2019, NIH study finds

By David Hogberg

Published June 15, 2021 3:49pm ET

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Coronavirus was in US by December 2019, NIH study finds — Pedestrians cross a street as one of them prepares his face mask in western Tehran, Iran, Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020. Iran is preparing for the possibility of "tens of thousands" of people getting tested for the new coronavirus as the number of confirmed cases spiked again Saturday, Health Ministry spokesman Kianoush Jahanpour said, underscoring the fear both at home and abroad over the outbreak in the Islamic Republic. | (Vahid Salemi/AP)

A new government study shows that people in at least five states were infected with the coronavirus in December 2019 and early January 2020, providing more evidence that the virus was in the country earlier than previously believed.

A study of blood samples taken by the National Institutes of Health from January to March of 2020 found COVID-19 antibodies in two people from Illinois and Massachusetts who gave blood samples on Jan. 7 and Jan. 8.

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COVID-19 Illinois Massachusetts NIH United States