Read on Twitter
COVID+ athletes have been big in the news recently. The Miami Marlins had an outbreak in the last 24 hours. It's the latest in a laundry list of news stories about athletes testing positive.
Should we be concerned?
You be the judge - here is the breakdown of symptom severity.
Should we be concerned?
You be the judge - here is the breakdown of symptom severity.
No doubt, in rare cases, COVID can cause health complications & lingering issues. This is the case of Red Sox pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez, who is experiencing lingering cardio issues. He's in the <2% of "Severe Illness" group (and <1% with lingering effects) https://twitter.com/EdWhelanEPPC/status/1287919143954653184
Far more common, though, are cases such as Russell Westbrook: Athletes who test positive are completely asymptomatic nearly 60% of the time - and that number is growing since May, as leagues return and regular testing is implemented. https://rocketswire.usatoday.com/2020/07/22/russell-westbrook-was-mostly-asymptomatic-from-covid-19/
Here's the case of British soccer player Elliott Bennett:
"I would never have guessed for a moment I had coronavirus because this disease is affecting people in terrible ways and I’m not showing any symptoms." https://www.the-sun.com/sport/premier-league/905635/blackburn-elliott-bennett-baffled-coronavirus/
"I would never have guessed for a moment I had coronavirus because this disease is affecting people in terrible ways and I’m not showing any symptoms." https://www.the-sun.com/sport/premier-league/905635/blackburn-elliott-bennett-baffled-coronavirus/
And here is the case of professional golfer Victor Lange:
"Again, I displayed no symptoms, and I was quite taken aback. “Are you sure you did the test correctly?” I asked." https://www.pgatour.com/news/2020/03/31/pga-tour-latinoamerica-victor-lange-discusses-experience-with-coronavirus-covid-19-quarantine.html
"Again, I displayed no symptoms, and I was quite taken aback. “Are you sure you did the test correctly?” I asked." https://www.pgatour.com/news/2020/03/31/pga-tour-latinoamerica-victor-lange-discusses-experience-with-coronavirus-covid-19-quarantine.html
But this is empirical, not anecdotal, evidence. With the help of @nj_hill, I've compiled all known cases of athletes testing positive for C9 to prepare the chart that started this thread. You can check our sources (and suggest additions or revisions) here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1duBllNACCiMYuWlk21jfLtBl9kJ9y6_fGVlqd0kk5_E/edit?usp=sharing
Why does this matter?
Well, athletes: (a) have been tested fairly regularly for months, regardless of symptoms, unlike the general population; (b) are high-profile enough to make headlines when they test positive.
For these reasons, it's our best view into the mix of severity.
Well, athletes: (a) have been tested fairly regularly for months, regardless of symptoms, unlike the general population; (b) are high-profile enough to make headlines when they test positive.
For these reasons, it's our best view into the mix of severity.
Of course, athletes are not representative of the broader population. They're generally healthier. But this underscores the need to stratify the risk between younger, healthier populations and older, frailer, at-risk populations.
If you're under age 40 and healthy, do you think you should be aware that you might be asymptomatic 60% of the time if you contract C19, and have symptoms milder than flu 25% of the time?
It doesn't seem as though this is the impression that many have of the risks.
It doesn't seem as though this is the impression that many have of the risks.
