---
title: UMD Biologist’s New Book Explores COVID’s Secret Weapon
date: 2024-10-22T05:30:00-04:00
author: University of Maryland
canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/umd-biologists-new-book-explores-covids-deadliest-weapon"
section: Articles
---
# UMD Biologist’s New Book Explores COVID’s Secret Weapon

*October 22, 2024* — by [Leslie Miller](/author/leslie-miller)


> In ‘Asymptomatic,’ Researcher Who Fought Pandemic Offers Insights to Help Prevent Another

*Asymptomatic istockbg 1920x1080 — A new book by a UMD biology professor explores how COVID was able to spread so effectively and disrupt life worldwide.*

In December 2021, physicist-turned-biologist Joshua Weitz was on a pandemic-delayed research sabbatical in Paris with his family when COVID-19 unexpectedly hit home.

“I brought my daughter to a local pharmacy to get her a rapid COVID test as a precaution before going to a gathering. At the time, she felt totally fine,” Weitz recalled. “Moments after we left the pharmacy, the pharmacist ran out of the store yelling her name, and I knew immediately what that meant: She had tested positive for COVID.”


*Joshua Weitz headshot — Photo courtesy of Joshua Weitz*




**Topics:** [Research](https://today.umd.edu/tags/research)


**Tags:** [Biology](https://today.umd.edu/topic/biology), [Books](https://today.umd.edu/topic/books), [Research](https://today.umd.edu/topic/research)


**Units:** [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences](https://today.umd.edu/topic/college-computer-mathematical-and-natural-sciences)