Second, each week’s surveillance population is not a true random sample, so extrapolating this estimate to the full student population could over- or undercount asymptomatic cases depending on the direction of bias (ie, healthy volunteer bias vs test avoidance by those with high-risk behaviors).
Finally, some students who were positive in surveillance testing may have been presymptomatic, rather than asymptomatic.
In conclusion, we estimate that approximately 80% of students infected with SARS-CoV-2 are asymptomatic. This is consistent with other studies in young adult populations.2
Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS
Cassie Chupp, MPH
Michelle Bentivegna, MPH
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Georgia, Athens
ebell@uga.edu
The authors reported no potential conflict of interest relevant to this article.