Milton Co-Authors NY Times Piece on COVID Super-spreaders

Earlier this month, Fischell Institute researcher and UMD School of Public Health professor Donald Milton co-authored a New York Times opinion piece that focused on the ways indoor air quality can be improved in order to prevent COVID-19 superspreader events.

The piece titled “We Have the Technology to Stop Superspreaders without Masks” stated that vaccinations and rapid testing alone can not prevent infections. Milton and his co-authors noted that decades of studies have indicated that germicidal ultraviolet light might be one of the best technologies for disinfecting indoor air.

Milton addressed how the risk level for catching airborne diseases depends in large part on the amount of infectious viruses in the air we breathe. Indoor air germs are controlled by two things: the rate at which infected people in a room exhale germs, and the rate at which infectious germs are removed from the air.

Milton argued that the use of GUL technology should become the norm for large indoor gatherings, particularly where meals are served and masks cannot be worn. He also stated that removing germs from indoor air needs to be a top priority to prevent spreading.

The full opinion piece is available online.

Published April 29, 2022