New flu study suggests NYers aren't at high risk of getting COVID on the subway: report
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A new study focusing on flu deaths in U.S. cities suggests that New Yorkers are not at significant risk of contracting COVID-19 on the subway, according to a report.
New York University researchers earlier this week published a study comparing the number of influenza deaths in 121 U.S. cities to the number of people in those cities who use mass transit, the Daily News reported.
Between 2006 and 2015, New York City "had one of the lowest rates of flu deaths," despite the fact that around 57 percent of the population takes public transit, the outlet reported.
Sherry Glied, who co-authored the study and serves as dean of NYU's Wagner School of Public Service, told the outlet the flu study could shed light on the link between COVID-19 spread and public transit use, as both are "viral respiratory diseases."
"COVID could spread quite differently from influenza," Glied said. "What we studied is influenza, but a lot of what we've thought about in COVID is based on an influenza-like model."
In a statement provided to the outlet, an MTA spokeswoman said the study was "the latest in a cascade of scientific reporting that shows transit is not a vector for the spread of respiratory diseases," adding that there "has been no serious evidence worldwide connecting transit routes and spread of this virus."
