New CDC data show that more than half of COVID-19 transmissions come from people who don’t even know they have them.
A new model shows that 59% of all transfers come from asymptomatic carriers. This includes 35% of people who were pre-symptomatic and 24% who never had any symptoms.
“It’s really a signal that someone’s immune system hasn’t yet responded to the virus’s entry into the body, that’s a possibility,” says Dr. Alexa Mieses Malchuk of UNC. “It could be that the person who was tested has not yet developed symptoms. The other possibility is that people’s immune system’s response to the virus is a little different and they may never develop symptoms.”
Experts tell us that asymptomatic spread is one of the biggest challenges when trying to slow the spread.
The doctor’s infectious disease expert, Dr. Cameron Wolfe, says this data reminds us that we all need to follow the advice of the medical community.
“That’s why masks and distancing are so important,” Wolfe said. “You can’t rely on your own symptoms to base your decisions.”
Wolfe stressed the importance of sticking to what works, washing his hands, wearing a mask and keeping his distance. He also recalled that there is no shortcut to overcoming it.
“You can’t try to get out of this problem,” Wolfe said. “We are all tired. Heck, no one is immune to that, but we need to keep pushing that line and these asymptomatic data really proves that point. We have to do better. ”