COVID COVID Virus Lives Longer with Higher CO2 In the Air

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The discussion centers on a research article examining the relationship between ambient carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and the stability of SARS-CoV-2 in the air, suggesting that higher CO2 concentrations correlate with increased infection risk. The study indicates that in controlled lab settings, lower CO2 levels (≤500 ppm) suppress the virus compared to higher levels (≈800 ppm) typical of well-ventilated spaces. Critics argue that the findings merely reinforce existing knowledge that CO2 serves as a proxy for ventilation effectiveness, emphasizing that good ventilation dilutes airborne viruses and reduces CO2 levels. The validity of the study's conclusions is questioned, as it relies on artificial conditions rather than real-world scenarios. Overall, the discussion highlights the importance of ventilation in mitigating infection risks while scrutinizing the implications of CO2 as a measure in building codes and public health guidelines.
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Tom.G said:
Popular, lengthy article with many embedded links, which I have not followed.
https://www.statnews.com/2024/06/04/co2-ventilation-research-virus-airborne-life-haddrell-celebs/

Research Article:
Ambient carbon dioxide concentration correlates with SARS-CoV-2 aerostability and infection risk
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-47777-5

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Tom
There have been a large number of studies that have looked at the risk of infection and ventilation. If someone is infected and secreting virus in an enclosed space, the amount of virus that anyone else is exposed to will increase rapidly. Good ventilation effectively dilutes the amount of virus in the air, it also reduces C02. These are really, simple correlations that provide no real evidence that the C02 is anything more than a proxy measure of ventilation. I can't even figure out why or indeed how these have been published.
 
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Laroxe said:
These are really, simple correlations that provide no real evidence that the C02 is anything more than a proxy measure of ventilation.
This is why building codes use CO2 concentration as a proxy measure for contolling required ventilation.
 
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Not quite what the article finds.

The study used artificial air in a lab setting and varied the CO2 concentration. They found that the virus was suppressed when the CO2 concentration was <=500ppm, versus the 'well ventilated' room concentration of ≈800ppm.

See the article for details.
 

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