Up to 300,000 COVID-19 cases worldwide are reported to be traced back to a biotech meeting at a hotel in downtown Boston earlier this year.
A February meeting of Biogen managers reportedly resulted in 100 individuals testing positive for COVID-19, who would later spread the virus to 29 states and three countries: Australia, Slovakia and Sweden, according to a study published by Science Magazine on Thursday (December 10.)
According to the study, the meeting accounted for 1.6% of the total cases in the United States throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The study was reportedly conducted by tracking the unique genetic signatures of the virus that could be traced to the event and conducted by lead author Jacob Lemieux, an infectious disease physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, as well as 50 additional credited researchers.
“If there is a public health message here, it is that the conditions that enable these types of massive super-spreading events to occur are still with us,” Lemieux told the Boston Globe. “They’re still possible if we let our guard down. They’re still possible if infected but otherwise healthy people mingle and travel without restriction.”
In a statement obtained by Boston 25 News, Biogen responded to the study by saying the COVID-19 pandemic has had a "very direct and personal impact" on the company and it hopes Science Magazine's study will "continue to drive a better understanding of the transmission of this virus and efforts to address it."
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