COVID-19: High rate of asymptomatic cases is 'good thing' for society, says researcher

While the global coronavirus cases have surpassed 20.1 million with more than 737,900 deaths, a researcher has said that higher rate of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases is a “good thing” for society. According to an infectious disease specialist at the University of California, Monica Gandhi, the greater rate of asymptomatic cases of the novel coronavirus could play a role in ending the pandemic that has rocked the world since the beginning of 2020. 

Gandhi’s research is based on cases of coronavirus that do not show the usual symptoms of the disease and she said that it is a “good thing” for the entire situation. She was quoted as saying by Washington Post, ‘A high rate of asymptomatic infection is a good thing. It is a good thing for the individual and a good thing for society’. The COVID-19 pandemic has continued to tighten its grip since the last seven months and has left several clues ranging from \uneven transmission in various parts of the world to mild symptoms in some children. 

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US CDC said 40% cases are asymptomatic

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released a study last month that said at least 40 per cent of COVID-19 cases are asymptomatic. It is the findings like these that have allowed the researchers to look into the role of receptor cells in SARS-CoV-2 that enters the body of an individual to enhance understanding of the role played by age and genetics. Other scientists are researching about face masks and if they may filter out enough pathogen so that those wearing them had mild cases or are asymptomatic. 

When coronavirus was initially emerging in December 2019, heath authorities had labelled the virus as “novel” implying that it was the first time of the pathogen being seen in humans who [ersumably has no immunity from its infection later named as COVID-19. However, according to reports, the early and tentative evidence suggests that the assumption might have been incorrect. Another interesting research states that a part of the world’s population has partial protection from the coronavirus due to “memory” T-cells, which is a part of a human immune system trained to identify specific invaders. 

“This might potentially explain why some people seem to fend off the virus and may be less susceptible to becoming severely ill," National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins was quoted as saying. 
 

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Image: AP

(With inputs from ANI)