Asymptomatic Spread Revisited

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Source: American Institute for Economic Research.

The concept of asymptomatic spread of Covid-19 has always seemed like an oxymoron to me. I can imagine a few particles of the virus getting onto my skin or into my breath, only to move on to another person without ever making me sick. It defies common sense, however, to conceive of such an instance of purely mechanical transportation as driving a pandemic. As a rule, one becomes infectious when one develops infectious disease symptoms; no symptoms, no spread.

The article notes that this was substantially the view of the World Health Organization as expressed back in March. It goes on to share the results of a study that appears to confirm the insignificance of Covid-19’s asymptomatic spread.

The usual caveats to reason apply: One study does not Truth make, but the point here is not about the truth of Covid-19’s asymptomatic spread, but about media and politicians’ lies on the topic.

Published by John Todd Roberts

Published

35 thoughts on “Asymptomatic Spread Revisited”

  1. “As a rule, one becomes infectious when one develops infectious disease symptoms; no symptoms, no spread.”

    There is no such rule. Ever heard of Typhoid Mary?

    BTW, this site and this author in particular are not trustworthy.

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        2. Not very credible?

          It is advice. Take it or leave it. But as someone who has repeatedly gotten egg all over his face from putting too much credence into right wing media, you should think about taking it. Most recently you were panting with excitement about the looming game changing evidence that Ms. Powell was going to provide. Fooled again!

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          1. I predict that Sydney Powell will become a synonym and icon for “lunatic fringe”. Jaw dropping that ANYONE would give her insane ramblings credence. Just sayin…

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  2. “People who are infected but do not have symptoms can also spread the virus to others.”

    https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html#:~:text=%2D%20Some%20people%20without%20symptoms,)%20from%20other%20people.

    This is apparently the official position of the administration.

    My understanding is that the virus can be spread for up to 10 days before the person even experiences symptoms. As opposed to seasonal flu which is contagious once the person feels sick. This is the reasoning behind 14 day quarantine, with or without testing, if coming from hotspots.

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  3. These Trumpophiles are constantly searching the Web to cherry-pick “findings” that confirm that Mr. Trump’s laissez faire approach to the pandemic was actually the result of profound wisdom and not of selfishness, apathy and incompetence. Give them A for effort.

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  4. If this were true then we have to accept that a lot of our fellow citizens were symptomatic and yet went out and spread the disease to others willfully.

    I suspect that while symptomatic spread is far more likely, asymptomatic and presymptomatic spread do occur at a sufficient rate to sustain the pandemic.

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    1. Good point. I have known a few folks who got symptoms of illness, got tested and were negative. Problem was it took a few days to get the results. And right now, some areas the lines for testing are hours long and the labs are jammed. Many are getting tested so they can gather with family for Thanksgiving.

      In other words, although we are testing a lot, there is still a difficulty in some hotspots to determine who is infectious and who is not.

      Never mind the lack of contact tracing.

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  5. https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/08/looking-at-children-as-the-silent-spreaders-of-sars-cov-2/

    It’s an August publication and stuff is being published, countered, and edited sooo fast… but…

    “In a study of 192 children ages 0-22, 49 children tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, and an additional 18 children had late-onset, COVID-19-related illness. The infected children were shown to have a significantly higher level of virus in their airways than hospitalized adults in ICUs for COVID-19 treatment, according to Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Mass General Hospital for Children (MGHfC).”

    REPEAT

    “The infected children were shown to have a significantly higher level of virus in their airways than hospitalized adults in ICUs for COVID-19 treatment,..”

    Wrap your head around that. The little buggers were filthy with it. And, as we all know, kids can’t get it.

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        1. That may be a possibility. We’ll see. But next year, we should see a spike in cardiovascular stuff in people who “survived” bad bouts if there is going to be any future effects like that.

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          1. The point, of course, is that we do not know enough about the long term effects of this virus to cavalierly dismiss infections in children as being inconsequential. There is, I believe, a growing body of evidence that this is as much a vascular disease as it is a respiratory one.

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          2. I don’t dismiss the infection for anyone, and I have grandchildren I try to protect from infection every day. We are homeschooling ours until we are sure it is safe.

            But we also should not speculate without evidence.

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          3. “Kids get it, they just don’t become seriously ill.”

            Sounds pretty dismissive and speculative to me. You do not know that to be fact. No one actually does.

            “We also should not speculate without evidence.”
            Keep that in mind the next time you want to write about massive election fraud stealing the election from poor little long suffering Donald Trump.

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      2. Low membrane ACE2. No cell entry, no disease…

        What’s interesting is the correlation between countries that have poor air quality and high processed sugar consumption and covid death.

        Take India… the perfect storm. England, Germany, France, and the Netherlands are BIG sugar consumers. Sweden? Not so much.

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      3. I won’t go as far as Paul, but there have been several instances of younger folks having serious cardiac issue after having been infected. Some involved with the NCAA were touting that information as one of the reasons NOT to have a college football season. And cardiac testing is being conducted on athletes that have been infected. And no big surprise, the Black athletes tend to be more prone to the cardiac issues.

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          1. Black people in general or those here? Do they have the same incidence in, oh, say, England? France? Angola (the country, not down in La.)?

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          2. I don’t know.

            What I have read(as far back as in dental school in 1972) was based on the US Black population, but I suspect that it will be universal since it affects people too young for lifestyle affects to be the determinant.

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          5. “Sudden Athlete Death Syndrome has been recognized a long time. ”

            Not arguing with you, Don. I am just pointing out that college athletic departments are checking for cardiac issues not previously identified in student athletes who have contracted COVID-19.

            It has also been shown numerous times that Black people are more harshly affected by the virus, athlete or not.

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        2. But, but…the money. Don’t forget the money.

          Football generates so much of it that the lives of a few athletes are collateral damage.

          Meanwhile the Midwest is literally “drowning” in COVID cases. And it seems many are in a state of denial about simple measures of masks, distancing and social gatherings.

          Facilities are full, over flowing really. Workers are exhausted and very frustrated that the leaders are reluctant to take charge with even simple mandates.

          Sad tale here:

          https://www.reuters.com/article/health-coronavirus-hospitals-idUSKBN2841K3

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          1. The petri dishes also known as college campuses make it nearly impossible for student athletes to not be affected by the virus. The numbers of games cancelled and postponed increases daily. And it isn’t just the football games. Several teams have cancelled games or pulled out of preseason tournaments because of positive tests of athletes and staff.

            And the chances of my Pittsburgh Steelers going to 11-0 after the tryptophan wears off Thursday night keeps looking better as more Ravens test positive.

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      1. Why I think that would be yet another personal attack from you but that is all you have. It must really stink to be proven a party to such ignorance and proven wrong so often.

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        1. Bobr, when someone accuses everyone who disagrees of “sheer ignorance” that is stupid and uncivil. Doubly so when those people are a majority of your countrymen. I carefully avoided calling you any names but if you take my comment as “personal attack” think of it as a response to your stupid accusations.

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