Direct Measurement of Rates of Asymptomatic Infection and Clinical Care-Seeking for Seasonal Coronavirus

Jeffrey Shaman; Marta Galanti

Data are derived from sampling performed between October 2016 and April 2018 as part of the Virome project, a proactive sampling of respiratory virus infection rates, associated symptom reports and rates of seeking clinical care. We enrolled 214 healthy individuals from multiple locations in the Manhattan borough of NYC. Cohort composition is described in Galanti et al. (3, 4) and includes: children attending two daycares, along with their siblings and parents; teenagers and teachers from a high school; adults working at two emergency departments (a pediatric and an adult hospital); and adults working at a university medical center. The cohort was obtained using convenience sampling, and all participants were younger than 65 years. While the study period spanned two years from October 2016 to April 2018, some individuals enrolled for a single cold and flu season (October -April) and others for the entire study period. Participants (or their guardians, if minors) provided informed consent after reading a detailed description of the study (CUMC IRB AAAQ4358).