Learning from COVID-19 and Asymptomatic Spread
An article on University of Maryland Biology Professor Joshua Weitz shares insights from the COVID-19 pandemic and discusses Prof. Weitz’s new book, Asymptomatic. In the book, Prof. Weitz emphasizes how COVID-19 is evolving away from the heights of the pandemic and toward a seasonal endemic disease, characterized by silent asymptomatic spread, which complicates containment. Weitz argues for prioritizing public health strategies like real-time risk assessment, improved indoor air quality, and targeted prevention measures to manage future outbreaks effectively. The pandemic’s lessons underline the importance of rethinking transmission-focused responses to better prepare for future health crises.
During the pandemic, Weitz was a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology and was a researcher in quantitative viral dynamics. During that time, he collaborated with scientists around the world in trying to track the spread of COVID-19. In 2020, he led a large-scale “rapid-response risk assessment and asymptomatic testing” effort at Georgia Tech that involved more than 16 million people. Now however, Weitz is viewing COVID-19 from a different perspective.
“This moment personalized what I had been working on for two years — asymptomatic transmission— the fact that many people could get infected without realizing it, which leads to secondary spread, including the potential for severe and even fatal infections,” Weitz explained. “I began to grow worried that we weren’t going to learn the lessons that we needed to learn and communicate them moving forward.” One of the best ways to stem the spread of asymptomatic spread is with cheap and easy rapid tests, which can be used after suspected exposure.
Weitz’s research and experience with the COVID-19 pandemic inspired him to write a new book, “Asymptomatic: The Silent Spread of COVID-19 and the Future of Pandemics,” which was published on October 22, 2024. To read the full article, click here.
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