What’s a ‘Superspreader’ Event, Really?
How an epidemiologist thinks about ‘superspreading,’ a term with no clear definition
Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, the term “superspreader” has become a normal part of our everyday vocabulary. Since its emergence in the coronavirus conversation around the end of May, it’s been used to describe events like weddings, motorcycle rallies, and choir practice — any event in which a small number of people are responsible for infecting a far larger group with Covid-19. Most recently, it’s been used to describe a celebration held for Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett in the White House’s Rose Garden on September 26: At least eight of the White House officials in attendance, including the president, have now tested positive for Covid-19. Photos from the so-called “superspreader” event show lots of hugging and few masks.
But for a word that’s used so often, it isn’t very clearly defined.
“I don’t think there is a single agreed-upon definition, and to some extent, it is going to be variable from pathogen to pathogen,” says Jon Zelner, PhD, an assistant professor of epidemiology in the University of Michigan School of Public Health, in an email to the Medium Coronavirus Blog. There is likewise no set rule for determining whether a person is a superspreader.
