WHO Called Out for Asymptomatic Spread Comments in Latest Criticism of Coronavirus Pandemic Response

This week, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert clarified comments about the asymptomatic spread of the coronavirus, prompting questions over whether the UN agency is reliable amid the COVID-19 pandemic. But health experts told Newsweek the UN agency is, on the whole, dealing well with a difficult situation.

WHO infectious disease epidemiologist Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove told a media briefing on Monday: "From the data we have, it still seems to be rare that an asymptomatic person actually transmits onward to a secondary individual."

This messaging appeared at odds with past comments by the WHO, and recommendations by health officials to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of the virus in those without symptoms.

At a live Q&A session on Tuesday, Van Kerkhove said there had been a misunderstanding between being asymptomatic and never showing symptoms despite being infected, and the pre-symptomatic—who have caught the virus but are yet to have symptoms.

Van Kerkhove said current estimates indicate "anywhere between 6 and 41 percent of the population may be infected but not have symptoms."

Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, said on Wednesday: "This is a new virus, and we are all learning all the time.

"Communicating complex science in real time about a new virus is not always easy, but we believe it's part of our duty to the world. And we can always do better. We welcome constructive debate, and that's how science advances. WHO's advice will continue to evolve as new information becomes available."

On Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House coronavirus task force, told ABC's Good Morning America it is "not correct" to suggest that it is rare for those without symptoms to pass on the virus.

Fauci said: "What happened the other day is that a member of the WHO was saying that transmission form an asymptomatic person to an uninfected person is 'very rare.' They walked that back because there's no evidence to indicate that's the case.

"And in fact, the evidence that we have given the percentage of people, which is about 25, 45 percent of the totality of infected people, likely are without symptoms. And we know from epidemiological studies that they can transmit to someone who is uninfected, even when they're without symptoms. So to make a statement to say that's a rare event was not correct."

The walkback prompted Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel to ask: "How can we possibly trust the WHO at all?"

Days before, the WHO updated its guidance on masks. After months of stating that healthy people only need wear face coverings when caring for the sick, it now recommends people aged 60 or over and people of any age with underlying health conditions wear medical masks. All this comes against the backdrop of President Donald Trump threatening to permanently stop funding the WHO over its handling of the pandemic, in a potential move that many health experts have criticized.

So can the public trust the WHO during the worst public health crisis of the century? Largely yes, health experts told Newsweek, highlighting that the pandemic is a unique challenge.

Gail Carson, head of The International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium Global Support Centre, told Newsweek via email: "There is no such thing as the perfect outbreak response, there are always things that could have been said differently, actions that might have been done differently."

Most outbreaks are evolving situations, usually over within a few weeks to months, often involving one part of the country, according to Carson. "The unique position we find ourselves in with this pandemic is that we are responding, preparing and trying to recover all at the same time but in differing contexts. The WHO is also in a unique position where it has to try to guide all the members—the world!"

Carson said decision-making during any public health crisis is fluid, and she is therefore not surprised when decisions are revisited. In her opinion, the WHO's public health response has proven its worth, as many countries are coming out of their first wave.

"Overall the WHO has been regularly and effectively communicating with us, sharing what they know and what they do not know about a new virus," said Carson. "Science communication is challenging even more so under such prolonged and intense pressure of a pandemic.

"This organization has decades of experience of working with partners, countries and communities to contain outbreaks, we have to keep working with the WHO and listening to them. We are stronger together."

Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, senior scholar at Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, told Newsweek that Van Kerkhove's comments were misinterpreted as relating to both truly asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic patients.

"This is a novel coronavirus and we are learning a lot about this on a day-to-day basis, so it is the expectation of guidance will change as more evidence is collected," he said.

Adalja said the WHO gets a "mixed grade" from him in its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic overall, as it has "great expertise" and the ability to coordinate a response, but "appears to be susceptible to political influences."

"Early on, there was a hesitancy to declare a public health emergency of international concern, recognize a pandemic was beginning, and failure to criticize China on its policies of stifling free speech, penalizing brave physicians, expelling western [journalists], transparency, and overly militaristic enforced social distancing," he said.

But Adalja went on: "I do think the WHO should be trusted with the caveat that they are often under political pressure that may constrain their abilities. They do represent an important asset when it comes to infectious disease emergency management and need to be supported and improved."

Newsweek has contacted the WHO for comment.

Six months into the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 7.5 million cases have been confirmed, over 421,000 people have died, and over 3.5 million recoveries have been reported, according to Johns Hopkins University

As the graph by Statista below shows, the U.S. is the country with the most known COVID-19 cases.