Researcher Gregory Chiklis has spent the duration of the pandemic running antibody tests in his Franklin lab, MRN Diagnostics. He has tested hundreds of first responders who were exposed to coronavirus in towns west of Boston.
“We’ve gone back now and tested their spouses or their partners, in a couple of cases we tested their children who are over 18, and in no cases have we seen that person spread the virus to their family members,” said Chiklis.
His findings echo something the World Health Organization is now dialing back on after a controversial comment Monday. “It appears to be rare that an asymptomatic individual transmits onward,” said Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove, head of the WHO’s emerging diseases and zoonosis unit. A day later, she clarified. “That’s a big open question, and that remains an open question,” she said.