Update: We want to thank all of those who signed up to participate in Sanguine’s COVID-19 research studies and all survey respondents. Since the onset of Sanguine’s COVID-19 research studies, we have received over 800 sign ups from individuals who believe they have recovered from COVID-19. In a second participant study, we surveyed approximately 100 individuals. Of those, about one-third have participated in one of our studies, one-third are in the process of participating, and one-third couldn’t participate because they weren’t able to provide a positive COVID-19 test result- these individuals were then asked why they couldn’t provide an official diagnosis. Responses included limited testing that was reserved for high-risk or high-priority individuals, lack of testing availability at the time, or only being able to get tested when symptoms had already subsided.
Severity and Recovery
From the experiences of surveyed individuals, we have come across some interesting findings. 92% of surveyed individuals experienced COVID-19 symptoms while 8% were asymptomatic. Only about 5% of survey participants were hospitalized for one week or more as most participants were not hospitalized at all. Only 1 individual reported being put on a ventilator. In terms of severity of symptoms, most individuals reported moderate symptoms. Symptoms were defined as follows.
- Asymptomatic: no symptoms
- Mild symptoms: low fever, cough
- Moderate symptoms: dry cough; loss of sense of smell and/or tase; minor chest pain
- Moderately severe symptoms: extremely painful coughing; high fever; severe chest pain
- Severe symptoms: hospitalization, ventilator, etc.
Individuals also self-reported recovery time. Recovery time was defined as the period from the day symptoms began to the last day symptoms were experienced. We found that symptoms usually subsided 2 or more weeks after onset.
Community Spread
About 13% of survey participants live alone, 34% live with one other individual, and over 53% live in a household of 3 or more persons. Of the 87% of individuals that live with at least one other person, over 70% reported that at least one other person in their household contracted COVID-19.
When asked how many times individuals left their home once they tested positive for COVID-19 OR once their symptoms began, about two-thirds of individuals never left their home. About 15% of participants left their home more than twice.
Main Takeaways
While most of our study participants did experience COVID-19 symptoms, it seems that most experienced mild to moderate symptoms, and only a small percentage experienced severe symptoms. It also seems that over two-thirds of individuals recovered after about 2-3 weeks of experiencing symptoms. These findings are consistent with data reported by the COVID Tracking Project and the Center of Disease Control (CDC) that implies most positive individuals do recover and that recovery takes about an average of 2 weeks.
Our study also shows that most infected individuals lived in a multiple-person household and that at least one other individual in their home also contracted COVID-19. About 15% of infected individuals left their home more than twice even after they suspected or tested positive for COVID-19. It is also very likely that individuals left their home and exposed others multiple times during the 2-14 day incubation period before their symptoms began. With these numbers, it isn’t difficult to imagine the exponential community spread that occurs with just a few infected individuals.
While COVID-19 has taken the world by storm, its main weapon is its mystery. The more we study and learn about the virus and its patterns of infection, the less unknown it becomes. With more research, we can uncover more findings and better protect ourselves and our communities.
For more information about COVID-19, please visit the CDC website.