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What the WHO Really Meant Regarding Asymptomatic Spread
Clearing up major coronavirus confusion
Authored by Alexandra Sifferlin and Dana Smith
Media and science Twitter was sent into a tizzy on Monday when the World Health Organization (WHO) shared that asymptomatic spread of Covid-19 is “very rare.” The news — which was a confusing statement without enough context from WHO — got quickly reported in ways that experts say were also not accurate, and soon enough everyone was really confused.
The statement from the UN agency was perplexing because study after study has shown that people without symptoms of Covid-19 appear to play a great, if not outsized, role in spreading the disease. So-called “silent superspreaders” — people who set off large outbreaks without knowing they are sick — have been blamed for many flare-ups across the nation. The statement caused people to wonder, if people without symptoms are not actually very good at spreading the disease, then do we all really need to be wearing masks? (You do; more on that in a bit.) Also, where is the WHO’s data coming from?
On Tuesday, the agency held a press conference on social media to clear the air. You can watch it below.
