"High Viral Load: COVID Patients Emit 1000 Virus Copies per Minute in Early Symptom Stage"

A study conducted by Northwestern Medicine has found that COVID-19 patients exhale high numbers of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the first eight days after symptoms appear, with levels as high as 1,000 copies per minute. The study, which used a new device to collect breath samples from infected individuals, found that viral levels dropped significantly on day eight, reaching an average of two copies exhaled per minute. The research also revealed that both vaccinated and unvaccinated patients exhaled similar levels of the virus, regardless of the variant they were infected with. The findings provide valuable insights into the timing of viral shedding and could help inform infection control measures and public health recommendations.