With 1,273 confirmed cases of COVID-19 on board, the crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt presented an ideal testing pool for the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control to study the virus's effect on younger, healthier populations. Here's some of what the CDC found in the 382 sailors who volunteered:
- Lower infection rates were reported among those who wore face masks, avoided common areas when possible, and practiced social distancing
- 1 in 5 sailors who contracted COVID-19 never showed any symptoms of the virus
- Those who did show symptoms reported that they were mild
- Loss of taste or smell was the most commonly reported symptom -- body aches, fever, and chills were also common
- 60 percent of the sailors tested positive for antibodies
- Some sailors still carried antibodies more than 40 days after exhibiting symptoms
The research provided valuable insights into how the virus affects populations that largely do not show any symptoms. Transfer of the disease by asymptomatic COVID-19 carriers was a hot topic this week -- the World Health Organization initially said that asymptomatic carriers were unlikely to transfer the virus to others but have since clarified that position. The CDC study on USS TR sailors did not look specifically at this aspect of infection.
The CDC is also eager to determine how long antibodies -- and possibly immunity from the virus -- stay in the body after COVID-19 recovery. It is thus far unclear whether or not antibodies actually prevent an individual from becoming infected with COVID-19 again, and it's similarly unclear how long any immunity might last. But the USS TR study provided "encouraging indicators" in this research, researchers said in the study.
COVID-19 has had the most devastating effects on older, less healthy people, so the USS TR crew provided an opportunity to gain insight into how the virus moves through a population generally younger and healthy. Overall, CDC researchers said the results were "promising."
The USS TR spent nearly two months docked in Guam addressing the COVID-19 outbreak on board. The 1,273 sailors who tested positive represent more than 25 percent of the crew. The outbreak also resulted in the death of one sailor on board and the firing of the TR's captain, Brett Crozier.
Overall, the Navy has reported 2,633 positive cases of COVID-19. It has continuously outpaced all other branches of the Armed Forces with infection rates since the Department of Defense first started reporting data by service branch at the beginning of April.
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Reach Elizabeth Howe on Twitter @ECBHowe.
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