Anonymous wrote:
I'm not totally nonchalant about the spread of colds, but I think that we usually identify people as having colds only when they're symptomatic. So, yes, I'd be annoyed if someone came to any party sneezing and wiping their nose, covid or not covid. But the concern here seemed to be that there would be an asymptomatic spread, and that just didn't seem likely given the outdoors, etc. Still unclear as to whether the maskless offender was out sick the day prior (and of course whether OP's kid ended up testing positive) but otherwise the presence of a maskless kid at an outdoor party wouldn't bother me.
We talk about asymptomatic covid spreaders for good reason, but I never considered the spread of asymptomatic colds or even asymptomatic flu prior to this year. The stat about all of these asymptomatic covid carriers walking around is scary, but, I dunno - maybe it's less than all of the asymptomatic cold and flu carriers that we've never tested.
Half of flu cases are asymptomatic. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. The exposures may be like boosters for all we know.
“ Assuming seasonal flu will be back, I'd prefer everyone to be exposed yearly, than e.g. once every ten years, irrespective of vaccine status. Most flu infections were mild (~50% asymptomatic), which would most unlikely be the case if people were exposed to it infrequently.”
- Francois Balloux
Let’s not mess with flu.