Irving Vega, Ph.D.:
The main reason for our lack of clarity on asymptomatic spreaders is that COVID-19 testing has been directed at symptomatic individuals.
Interestingly, in the same households you can find asymptomatic and symptomatic individuals. In my lab’s community testing study, we identified asymptomatic individuals. Upon testing their significant other, we found that they were infected too. This was true for all asymptomatic cases we tested.
Comprehensive and accurate contact tracing with universal testing is required to answer the question about the role that asymptomatic individuals play in the spread of COVID-19.
Resources:
What We Need to Understand About Asymptomatic Carriers if We’re Going to Beat Coronavirus: ProPublica’s health reporter Caroline Chen explains what the conversation around asymptomatic coronavirus carriers is missing, and what we need to understand if we’re going to beat this nefarious virus together. April 2, 2020