CDC hosts COVID-19 superspreader event — 181 test positive

You’d think they’d know better.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosted an “Epidemic Intelligence Service Conference” that drew 1,800 attendees to an Atlanta hotel in April.

And 181 people became infected with COVID-19.

The good news is, none of those infected needed to be hospitalized, the CDC reports, perhaps because over 99% of the attendees surveyed were vaccinated against COVID-19.

Nonetheless, the irony of a superspreader event hosted by the CDC wasn’t lost on social media.

“I am sorry but I am laughing,” Dr. Natalia Solenkova wrote on Twitter, with one user posting a clip of Alanis Morissette singing her hit song “Ironic” in response.

Others were more forgiving of the mishap, pointing out that attendees at a CDC conference are more likely to test for — and report — a COVID-19 infection than attendees at other conferences.

Organizers of other conventions have admitted they “specifically avoid looking for COVID-19 among attendees because it’s bad for local tourism,” according to Vox.

At the time of the four-day CDC conference, local COVID-19 conditions in the Atlanta area were such that masks were optional for attendees, and about three-quarters of them went mask-free, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Even so, health experts repeatedly say that wearing a mask reduces the risk of infection, especially in crowded indoor settings where air circulation might be poor.

The CDC has said its analysis of the disease that spread through the conference proves “that COVID-19 vaccines, antiviral treatments and immunity from previous infection continue to provide people with protection against serious illness.

“CDC continues to recommend that everyone ages six months and older stay up to date with all COVID-19 vaccines, including receiving an updated vaccine. COVID-19 vaccines are effective at protecting people from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and dying.”

But with an upcoming CDC conference in June at the same hotel, the agency isn’t taking any unnecessary chances: The CDC is encouraging attendees to wear their “own high-quality masks and, if possible, also carry COVID-19 rapid tests with them,” according to Ars Technica.