Ochsner Health Announces Baton Rouge COVID-19 Prevalence Study Findings

Ochsner Health announced on Thursday key findings from a COVID-19 Prevalence Study conducted in Ascension, East Baton Rouge, Livingston and West Baton Rouge Parishes between July 15-31. The study was in partnership with the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and funded by the Louisiana COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force and The Humana Foundation, with additional support from The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana Foundation and Healthy Blue.

Led by Ochsner Principal Investigator Amy Feehan, PhD, in cooperation with Pennington Biomedical, data from the study was analyzed to determine how widespread the virus is, and which populations have been most impacted. Over 2100 volunteers received free COVID-19 PCR testing and antibody testing representing a sample of Greater Baton Rouge residents.

Key Facts & Findings:

• 6.6% of Greater Baton Rouge residents (18+) have been infected with COVID-19.
  • 3.0% tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) but not antibodies, indicating that they are likely infectious. Projected to the larger population, we estimate more than 16,000 residents had an active infection at the time of testing.
• More than 60% of those with an active infection had no symptoms at the time of the test (projected 10,000 residents).

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