While the Covid-19 coronavirus is currently wreaking havoc in the United States, some are interested in how it spread. At the end of February 2020, the annual convention of a major pharmaceutical company apparently helped the spread of the virus in several American states.
Not long ago, we mentioned the fact that the United States was infected with Covid-19 in February. However, it turns out that the epidemic arrived from Europe and not from Asia. It is true that it is always interesting to reconstruct the route of a virus to understand how it spread.
According to an article published by the New York Times on April 12, 2020, a pharmaceutical company largely contributed to the spread of Covid-19 on American soil. This is Biogen, a company specializing in biotechnology. The fact is that at the end of February this society held its annual congress. During this event, no less than 175 people arriving from all over the United States gathered.
The congress in question took place in Boston (Massachusetts), more precisely at the Marriott Long Wharf hotel. The event lasted two days, during which the participants shared several meals and exchanged plenty of handshakes and other hugs . In addition, the atmosphere was particularly festive. Indeed, the recipes are very good for Biogen, which has made great progress in the development of a drug aimed at treating Alzheimer's disease. In addition, European collaborators also participated in the congress.
After these two days of celebration, the participants returned to their homes. These took off to at least six US states including Indiana, Tennessee and North Carolina. Others have gone to foreign countries including Austria, Germany, Argentina and Norway. Six weeks later, the state of Massachusetts alone had 99 infected people among Biogen employees and their relatives. However, 70 of the first 92 cases detected in this state are directly linked to the famous congress.
For many observers, Biogen should have canceled this congress in which European collaborators participated. Indeed, everyone knew that Europe was already affected enough by the Covid-19 epidemic. Moreover, if during the second day of the congress handshakes and hugs became much rarer , it was already way too late.
Since this misadventure, Biogen has been trying to redeem an image by participating in the fight against Covid-19. As a first step, the company made a donation of $10 million to acquire screening tests. There is also talk of donations of equipment and meals for hospital caregivers. Additionally, Biogen has partnered with Vir Technology to actively seek a cure.
