5 ms·

For everyone who is saying "I have never had Covid and ...", given the high rate of asymptomatic spread - how do you know? Have you had a recent antibody test?

For everyone who is saying "I have never had Covid and ...", given the high rate of asymptomatic spread - how do you know? Have you had a recent antibody test? Kinda fascinated to know.

kevin_thibedeau 3y ago
An antibody test isn't going to prove an old infection hasn't happened. I probably got it in early 2020 before testing was available. I had my first ever antibody test a couple of months ago for a hospitalization. It was, predictably, negative.
baja_blast 3y ago
I have never gotten it or at least not to my knowledge. I would sure hope that there is a genetic or even T-Cell immunity that could snuff the virus out before it takes a foothold since it could lead to better vaccines/treatments. IMO I think we need to explore vaccines that can develop T-Cell immunity over B-Cells. Antibodies fade and may no longer work as well if the virus mutates, but T-Cells do not have this problem and can actually kill the virus as opposed to creating obstacles for the spread.
fsmv 3y ago
I've taken a PCR test every time I've gotten sniffly since 2020 and I have never gotten positive. I suppose asymptomatic is possible but I also just don't go into crowded places much.
- NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
  I was reading the other day that the standard tests give some absurdly high rate of false negatives.
  - flangola7 3y ago
    What do you mean by standard tests? PCR? Antigen? Antibody?
    - NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
      The boxed tests, the take-home ones. In particular, the ones available in the United States (I think other countries were using other rapid tests than the US). I cannot find the link, but the rate was something ridiculous, way north of 50%. I take it with a grain of salt, I can't easily tell if it's just more propaganda from the covid-ain't-real people.
    - ghaff 3y ago
      I assume the standard rapid home antigen tests that the US government was giving out like candy.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    Certainly anecdotally you hear of people who tested for multiple days after they think they may have been exposed and only get a positive result after five days or something like that.
  - NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
    Anecdotally: both of the times I had Covid, I tested negative for a couple of days with two different brands of rapid antigen tests until I had really overt symptoms (bad headache, raging sore throat, fever).
- klyrs 3y ago
  To expound on NoMoreNicksLeft: "Rapid Covid tests miss 90% of asymptomatic cases" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36708301 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36708301
Outright0133 3y ago
"Asymptomatic spread of coronavirus is ‘very rare,’ WHO says": https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-pat...
- ghaff 3y ago
  I don't put a huge amount of stock in much of the supposed science from June 2020. Also, as in my case, people definitely got mild symptoms of something, tested (if they could), got a negative result, and went on with life--when it's entirely possible they had it.
- uudecoded 3y ago
  Are those scare quotes or irony that isn't clear? Why link a CNBC article from 2020? Here's a paper from last year: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9321237/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9321237/ Yes, it's Omicron, but 32.4% asymptomatic infection is not very rare. Asymptomatic carriers are 75% as infectious as symptomatic individuals: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2774707 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...
lamontcg 3y ago
"COVID" or "COVID-19" is the disease. I might have had an aborted or asymptomatic infection due to exposure to SARS-CoV-2 but I've never had COVID.

For everyone who is saying "I have never had Covid and ...", given the high rate of asymptomatic spread - how do you know? Have you had a recent antibody test? Kinda fascinated to know.

kevin_thibedeau 3y ago

An antibody test isn't going to prove an old infection hasn't happened. I probably got it in early 2020 before testing was available. I had my first ever antibody test a couple of months ago for a hospitalization. It was, predictably, negative.

baja_blast 3y ago

I have never gotten it or at least not to my knowledge. I would sure hope that there is a genetic or even T-Cell immunity that could snuff the virus out before it takes a foothold since it could lead to better vaccines/treatments. IMO I think we need to explore vaccines that can develop T-Cell immunity over B-Cells. Antibodies fade and may no longer work as well if the virus mutates, but T-Cells do not have this problem and can actually kill the virus as opposed to creating obstacles for the spread.

fsmv 3y ago

I've taken a PCR test every time I've gotten sniffly since 2020 and I have never gotten positive. I suppose asymptomatic is possible but I also just don't go into crowded places much.

NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
I was reading the other day that the standard tests give some absurdly high rate of false negatives.
- flangola7 3y ago
  What do you mean by standard tests? PCR? Antigen? Antibody?
  - NoMoreNicksLeft 3y ago
    The boxed tests, the take-home ones. In particular, the ones available in the United States (I think other countries were using other rapid tests than the US). I cannot find the link, but the rate was something ridiculous, way north of 50%. I take it with a grain of salt, I can't easily tell if it's just more propaganda from the covid-ain't-real people.
  - ghaff 3y ago
    I assume the standard rapid home antigen tests that the US government was giving out like candy.
- ghaff 3y ago
  Certainly anecdotally you hear of people who tested for multiple days after they think they may have been exposed and only get a positive result after five days or something like that.
- NovemberWhiskey 3y ago
  Anecdotally: both of the times I had Covid, I tested negative for a couple of days with two different brands of rapid antigen tests until I had really overt symptoms (bad headache, raging sore throat, fever).
klyrs 3y ago
To expound on NoMoreNicksLeft: "Rapid Covid tests miss 90% of asymptomatic cases" https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36708301 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36708301

Outright0133 3y ago

"Asymptomatic spread of coronavirus is ‘very rare,’ WHO says": https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-patients-arent-spreading-new-infections-who-says.html https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/08/asymptomatic-coronavirus-pat...

ghaff 3y ago
I don't put a huge amount of stock in much of the supposed science from June 2020. Also, as in my case, people definitely got mild symptoms of something, tested (if they could), got a negative result, and went on with life--when it's entirely possible they had it.
uudecoded 3y ago
Are those scare quotes or irony that isn't clear? Why link a CNBC article from 2020? Here's a paper from last year: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9321237/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9321237/ Yes, it's Omicron, but 32.4% asymptomatic infection is not very rare. Asymptomatic carriers are 75% as infectious as symptomatic individuals: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2774707 https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle...

lamontcg 3y ago

"COVID" or "COVID-19" is the disease. I might have had an aborted or asymptomatic infection due to exposure to SARS-CoV-2 but I've never had COVID.