Monday, May 30, 2022

Study undermines alarm about asymptomatic COVID spread

Back in June 2020, the World Health Organization's top infectious disease epidemiologist caused a stir when she said coronavirus transmission by asymptomatic individuals is "Very rare."

The fear of asymptomatic spread is one of the primary reasons for the COVID-19 lockdowns and mask mandates.

Lead author Diana Buitrago-Garcia of the University of Bern in Switzerland said the role of asymptomatic carriers of the virus in overall COVID transmission was minor.

"If both the proportion and transmissibility of asymptomatic infection are relatively low, people with asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection should account for a smaller proportion of overall transmission than presymptomatic individuals," she said.

When WHO's Kerkhove walked back her statement in June 2020, she said asymptomatic spread is a "Really complex question" and much is still unknown.

In her original statement June 8, 2020, at a news briefing at the United Nations agency's Geneva headquarters, she said that from "The data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual."

A study from China published in the Journal Nature in November 2020 on the prevalence of infection after a lockdown found no transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 among people who were in close contact with asymptomatic patients.

https://www.wnd.com/2022/05/study-undermines-alarm-asymptomatic-covid-spread/ 

No comments: