# 75% of people actively hide illnesses - wait until you see why! **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Created:** [January 30, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-of-people-actively-hide-illnesses-wait-until-you-see-why/996870 "2024-01-30T17:59:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2024, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-of-people-actively-hide-illnesses-wait-until-you-see-why/996870/1 "2024-01-30T17:59:50Z")
[People are inclined to hide a contagious illness while around others, research shows | ScienceDaily](https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2024/01/240129182421.htm#:~:text=FULL%20STORY-,A%20startling%20number%20of%20people%20conceal%20an%20infectious%20illness%20to,the%20Association%20for%20Psychological%20Science). > Many said they hid their illness because it would conflict with social plans, while a small percentage of participants cited pressure from institutional policies (e.g., lack of paid time off). Only five participants reported hiding a COVID-19 infection. I actually think there’s a significant sample bias here, I imagine people working hourly wages and jobs with essentially no time off have a very different reason. > In the first study, Merrell and his colleagues – psychology professor Joshua M. Ackerman and PhD student Soyeon Choi – recruited 399 university healthcare employees and 505 students. Still, if healthcare workers and university employees are hiding an illness, is the percentage higher in other places? I can’t find copies of the study in any journals with open access, so I can’t comment further. ETA I directly requested a copy from the researchers. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-of-people-actively-hide-illnesses-wait-until-you-see-why/996870/2 "2024-01-31T16:29:08Z")
I understand this to be extremely common – essentially _the default_ human behavior – and that the COVID pandemic has only somewhat diminished this behavior. That’s based on personal experiences and impressions versus hard data, though. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-of-people-actively-hide-illnesses-wait-until-you-see-why/996870/3 "2024-01-31T18:23:50Z")
A significant amount of information is available in the free 26 page Supplementary materials: [# When and Why People Conceal Infectious Disease](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/suppl/10.1177/09567976231221990/suppl_file/sj-docx-1-pss-10.1177_09567976231221990.docx) ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-of-people-actively-hide-illnesses-wait-until-you-see-why/996870/4 "2024-01-31T18:37:44Z")
Oh excellent, thank you! ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-of-people-actively-hide-illnesses-wait-until-you-see-why/996870/5 "2024-02-13T14:43:29Z")
Well, the potential cost of admitting to being positive for covid is about to decrease > **[CDC plans to drop five-day covid isolation guidelines](https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2024/02/13/covid-isolation-guidelines-cdc-change/?pwapi_token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJyZWFzb24iOiJnaWZ0IiwibmJmIjoxNzA3ODAwNDAwLCJpc3MiOiJzdWJzY3JpcHRpb25zIiwiZXhwIjoxNzA5MTgyNzk5LCJpYXQiOjE3MDc4MDA0MDAsImp0aSI6IjgyMzRkOTkyLTk0OGItNDViNy05YjI5LTIwZTZjM2FmYjg0NyIsInVybCI6Imh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9oZWFsdGgvMjAyNC8wMi8xMy9jb3ZpZC1pc29sYXRpb24tZ3VpZGVsaW5lcy1jZGMtY2hhbmdlLyJ9.3MsOnYbWir7PJBlAn-guCGOoZUwTNwNj0u50sXhm3TU&itid=gfta)** > > People with covid will be able to return to school, work and society if they have been fever-free for 24 hours and their symptoms are mild and improving. (Gift link) It’s controversial, as the revised guidance is purely about what the CDC thinks they can talk people into doing. But honestly, if they drop isolation and encourage masking, instead, it might be a win for public health. There are probably people who would avoid testing if it meant they had to lose income, but might be willing to mask for a week. Of course, they’ll probably just drop both. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [February 13, 2024, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/75-of-people-actively-hide-illnesses-wait-until-you-see-why/996870/6 "2024-02-13T15:47:18Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > Of course, they’ll probably just drop both. I feel like that’s exactly what they’ll do. We had someone at the Super Bowl party who was sneezing/sniffly, but said that since she’d tested negative for covid she felt okay coming. No mask, no thought that there might be one or two diseases out there that aren’t covid. We learned a lot, but retained very little.