To test or not to test? A new behavioral epidemiology framework for COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Evidence from clinical research suggests that in the first two waves of COVID-19, the virus spread rapidly through a large number of undocumented asymptomatic infections. These 'silent' infections camouflaged the actual incidence of the disease, leading to downward biases in the rates of transmission, disease prevalence, and fatality. These, in turn, had implications for how people and policymakers responded to changing infection prevalence. This paper posits that in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, a considerable number of SARS-CoV-2 infections spread through asymptomatic infected individuals who lacked economic incentives to test and isolate adequately. The decision to undertake testing and the subsequent possibility of isolation entails a calculus of benefits and costs for an

SUBMITTER: Sarkar J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11651578 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature