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Covid-19: the illusion of an immunity bubble from a big American boss

A big American boss thought he could create a bubble of immunity against Covid-19, the time of a seminar. He is doing his mea culpa today: 23 of the 50 participants in his seminar contracted the disease. 

This American entrepreneur is called Peter Diamondis . You may not know him but he is very good friends with a certain Elon Musk, or even James Cameron. He created the XPrize Foundation to reward the innovations of tomorrow in artificial intelligence, energy and health. He has also invested in the search for a vaccine against Covid-19 , Covaxx, currently in clinical trial.

At the end of January, he wanted to organize his big annual conference Abundance 360. But bringing together 450 experts, big bosses, members of start-ups from twenty different countries, in the middle of Covid-19 in a hotel in Los Angeles, California was not really not a good idea. In the end, he opted for a video format for some but face-to-face for around fifty people in Culver City, the headquarters of his company in California, in what he called an immunity bubble. 

The Covid-19 has slipped between the emails of the test net

To be able to enter this bubble of immunity, it was necessary to have done a negative PCR test less than 72 hours before coming, another saliva test when arriving, which will have allowed to exclude a first person from the session. No right to leave the site for four days with daily tests. Diamondis had chosen the most efficient machines on the market and had more than 450 tests carried out during the seminar. He had even hired a medical team to follow the progress of the participants and to give them vitamins and minerals to strengthen their immune system. Everything was going well until January 26, two days after the event ended. One of the staff members tested positive. After ten days, 23 people will have the coronavirus including Diamondis himself. Fortunately without serious form.  

No mask, no social distancing

Peter Diamondis writes today on his website “deeply regret this choice” . There was no social distancing, no mask imposed on the speakers on the sets. Only the technical team responsible for filming and uploading the program was spared because everyone was wearing a mask.  “As an engineer, a doctor, I thought we were using the best science had to offer. I thought a bubble of immunity was really possible. I don’t believe it anymore.”, he writes. Especially since after doing a positive PCR saliva test, he discovered his rapid self-tests were all negative. It’s a big challenge for the tech boss. Today, he is doing his mea culpa publicly and pleads for everyone to be more careful, especially in the United States where the Covid-19 has already killed nearly 500,000. 

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