COVID-19 Spreads Like the Measles

Regarding news stories, some have commented about what one believes versus another. I wish it was that simple. Unfortunately, the truth is more the flip of that. It’s not about what one is willing to believe as much as it is about their vulnerability to media persuasion.

All media is biased to report controversy by the nature of their for-profit business, and thanks in part to pioneer Dan Rather and later influence from abroad, a new era of spin and news synthesis began. But it is much worse than that now, confirmed more than once by inter-university research. The result has been a remaking of reporting and a redefinition of ethics, including abusing the public’s right to know into the journalist’s right to persuade. The media has become magicians of persuasion, perhaps overcome by the lure of its power. After all, we are wired to easily believe what we think everyone believes – a phenomenon of human nature that gives mass communication its power of persuasion.

I recently read an interesting article in the Huffington Post, which I do mainly for entertainment purposes. The article shared a scientific finding suggesting airborne transmission because the novel Coronavirus can hang in the air for hours. But the article quickly downplayed the finding by quoting another expert that says it won’t happen because the droplets of water we sneeze or cough out, are heavy and fall quickly. It makes sense for that modality of transmission thanks to the surface tension of water.

But what about spreading the virus when we breathe? Typical answer: “If you’re sick, stay home.” But I can be infected and not be sick and spread the virus because I’m not staying home (because I’m not sick)? “<deer in headlights; crickets>”

By how the article was written, it not only excluded from the reader’s viewpoint the idea of airborne spread, but it also serves to “inoculate” the reader against ever considering the idea in the future. And the U.S. being a culture that shuns mask wearers, we can have even more bias against the idea of wearing masks. This bias can harden our view that airborne spread isn’t happening or is insignificant. Even when the feasibility of the argument is clear, I’ve heard some dismiss it and say, “I’m not wearing a mask.”

Let’s compare the characteristics of the novel Coronavirus/SARS-CoV2 (COVID-19) to probably the most contagious virus in modern history: Rubeola (Measles).

Characteristics of SARS-CoV2:

1) Thousands of virus particles can exist in the breath of infected persons before they are sick.

2) The virus can hang and survive in the air for an hour or more.

3) The incubation period (time between first being infected and feeling sick) averages 5-6 days but can last up to 12 days.

4) Infected people can transmit the virus by breathing before they are sick.

5) COVID-19 has likely spread so fast because a common modality of transmission is through the air.

Now let’s look at the Measles:

1) Thousands of virus particles can exist in the breath of infected persons before they are sick.

2) The virus can hang and survive in the air for an hour or more.

3) The incubation period averages 7 days but can last up to 14 days.

4) Infected people can transmit the virus by breathing before they are sick.

5) Rubeola (Measles) main modality of transmission is through the air.

Bear in mind that our breath is saturated with moisture and because of the surface tension of water, viral particles go where the moisture goes. This is important because our breath is moist with humidity meaning tiny droplets of water that do not fall but dissipates into the air around it, leaving viral particles floating.

Conclusion: The Novel Coronavirus may be as contagious as the Measles for the same reasons why the Measles is so contagious. Social distancing helps with this but wearing an appropriate mask captures your breath and helps slow the spread through infecting the air. This combination implemented early could have lessened its mortality and economic impact. We can blame the media and bad medical advice.

Much of the media especially the media elites have become mass-comm-bullies, and unless you're steeped in understanding why they can, and seasoned in the practice of applying critical thought to reported scoops, may be easy to jump on their bandwagon. If the media was more interested in the public’s right to know the truth than their right to persuade or to push an agenda – such as capitalize on and even extend conditions generating, political capital (for the express purposes of hurting an incumbent POTUS), we might have had fewer deaths and less economic impact. They seem so focused these days on capitalizing on human nature for their greed of money or politics – or as some say, following marching orders from across the pond.

To understand a little more about the aforementioned human nature, Veritasium has done a fairly decent job explaining some of what I’m referring to on his YouTube channel, such as “The Illusion of Truth” (https://youtu.be/cebFWOlx848) and “The Science of Thinking” (https://youtu.be/UBVV8pch1dM). When watching the latter, just remember that Gun gets more “miles per gallon” than Drew – meaning, our automatic thinking expends much less energy than conscious thought. Our bodies prefer energy economy.