Super spreaders drive COVID-19: 80% of those infected likely don’t spread disease, Fred Hutch study finds

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About 80% of people infected with the novel coronavirus don’t spread the infection to anyone else, leaving the so-called super spreaders as the drivers of the global pandemic that has infected more than 5 million Americans alone, killing 162,000 people.

Preliminary research from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center suggests that infected people are most contagious for a short window, perhaps only two days, when their virus load is high. Unfortunately, that period also appears to strike before they’re symptomatic for COVID-19.

“The ethical thing to do as an individual is to walk around with the assumption that you’re infectious and contagious, and that it’s your responsibility to protect the public. That doesn’t change at all,” said Dr. Joshua T. Schiffer, an infectious diseases physician and author of the research, in a statement.

 The ethical thing to do as an individual is to walk around with the assumption that you’re infectious and contagious.

The findings emphasize the importance of readily available, rapid tests to identify infections.

Infected people are likely spreading very small amounts of the virus over a longer period, possibly for weeks, but at levels that don’t sicken others. But when a person in a highly contagious state is in contact with a larger group of people, particularly in an indoor space or a situation where people aren’t using masks, the disease can take off.

The scientists ran roughly half a million simulations of the spread of the disease and matched them against data on actual COVID-19 infections. They reported that both influenza and COVID-19 have short windows during which they’re infectious, but the novel coronavirus’ ability to spread as an aerosol that is exhaled, coughed or sneezed appears to amplify its infectiousness. The researchers concluded that “approximately 10-20% of infected people account for 80% of SARS-CoV-2 transmissions.”

The research was posted Friday on MedRxiv, a platform for sharing studies before it goes through a rigorous peer review, giving scientists quicker access to the findings and a chance to discuss the results.

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Antitrust hearing with CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Google will likely be delayed

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos speaking at the Economic Club of Washington, D.C. (Economic Club of Washington, D.C. Photo / Gary Cameron)

A hotly anticipated House antitrust hearing with the CEOs of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google set for Monday will likely be delayed according to reports from CNBC, The Verge, and Axios.

The hearing is expected to be postponed due to memorial services for the late Rep. John Lewis next week. The civil rights champion will lie in state at the U.S. Capitol and a ceremony is scheduled for Monday afternoon.

Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg, and Sundar Pichai were set to testify Monday before the House antitrust subcommittee on market dominance in the tech sector, the culmination of an inquiry into the companies they run that has lasted for more than a year. It is not clear when the new hearing date will be scheduled but Axios reports the committee is looking at the week of August 3.

The executives are expected to attend the hearing via video call due to the ongoing public health risk. It will be the first time all four CEOs have appeared together to address concerns about anti-competitive behavior in the tech industry. It will also be the first time Bezos testifies before Congress. The four tech giants are under antitrust scrutiny from several government entities in the U.S. and abroad.

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