In this episode, Therese Markow and Dr. Joshua Weitz discuss his book "Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics" and his work in understanding the risk of COVID spread from as early as spring of 2020. He highlights the double-edged sword of asymptomatic infections, discusses what governments could do to help mitigate at-risk populations, and what we, as individuals, can do to help keep everyone safe. Dr. Weitz criticizes early predictions of COVID-19's disappearance by mid-2020, attributing the error to underestimated infections and behavioral changes. He emphasizes the importance of public health measures, vaccination, and testing, especially in vulnerable populations. Finally, Dr. Weitz talks about the role of asymptomatic transmission in future pandemics and the need for proactive public health investments.
Key Takeaways:
Not having symptoms doesn't mean that you never had COVID-19. Nearly 50% of cases in early 2020 were asymptomatic (though that number varies by age).
There was not one single group of modelers trying to make sense of the data coming out of the pandemic. As such, different projections can come out even from the same pandemic information.
For infectious diseases, our behavior is correlated with the risk.
COVID is not the flu. COVID is not gone, and we now have a double seasonal burden from both flu and COVID.
If everyone is asymptomatic or it was always mild, we wouldn't worry. We wouldn't have stopped things or been so upset just by cases or infections; it was the severe ones and the number of severe cases that dictated the approach to control, as the transmission potential by asymptomatic individuals was not considered.
"The double-edged sword is good news, in some sense, for individuals, but it's bad news for populations, because many more people can be infected. They're contagious and interact with more people. When we try to think from a public health perspective, not just a personal health perspective, then we have to be concerned." — Dr. Joshua Weitz
Connect with Dr. Joshua Weitz:
Professional Bio: https://biology.umd.edu/people/dr-joshua-weitz
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshua-weitz-5866599/
Substack: http://joshuasweitz.substack.com/
Website: https://weitzgroup.umd.edu/
Book: Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics https://www.press.jhu.edu/books/title/53730/asymptomatic
Connect with Therese:
Website: www.criticallyspeaking.net
Threads: @critically_speaking
Email: theresemarkow@criticallyspeaking.net
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