Long, tall Sally would not be happy with this new study. Why? Because in this time of pandemic, to be tall may not be an advantage as a study claims that taller people have a higher risk of acquiring coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). 

According to researchers, tall people have a greater risk of getting coronavirus, which is another clue on how the virus spreads. 

A survey of more than 2,000 people in the United Kingdom and United States showed that men and women above six feet tall have greater risk of getting COVID-19. However, the results of the survey on women are not reliable since there were so few women in the study.

Of the 2,000 people surveyed, including 1,000 in the UK and 1,000 in the U.S., 339 people were over six feet tall.

According to NZ Herald report, the survey added weight to the theory that coronavirus is airborne. The researchers noted that the findings do not necessarily mean that tall people are somehow genetically more vulnerable to the infection. But instead, they believed that the results indicate COVID-19 spreads through tiny particles called aerosols that linger in the air after being exhaled.

They said taller people would be at no more risk if the virus was mainly spread through coughing or sneezing, which produce larger droplets that fall to the ground quickly.

(Photo : Mario Tama)
Hospital In El Centro, California Copes With Area's Rise In Coronavirus Infections EL CENTRO, CALIFORNIA - JULY 28: (EDITORIAL USE ONLY) A nurse cares for a coronavirus (COVID-19) patient in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at El Centro Regional Medical Center in hard-hit Imperial County on July 28, 2020 in El Centro, California.

According to Daily Mail, the results of the survey were analyzed by a team of data scientists in the UK, Norway and the U.S. led by experts at the University of Oxford.

Survey respondents were asked about their employment status, income, how they travel, if they socialized a lot or live with other people, among other factors that may affect a person's risk of infection with COVID-19. 

The analysis has yet to be scrutinized by fellow scientists and the link between height and coronavirus was only seen in the UK with the researchers not offering an explanation for this. 

So far, health officials have ruled out that COVID-19 is airborne. But the World Health Organization (WHO) recently admitted that they are reviewing "emerging evidence" that it is.

Airborne transmission is when a virus could be spread through inhalation of very small droplets called "aerosolized droplet nuclei or aerosols" that are able to stay suspended in the air for longer periods of time or even after a person has left the area. 

Thus, taller people wouldn't be at any higher risk if the transmission of coronavirus is mainly through larger droplets. They will be more exposed to aerosols for being tall, according to the experts' theory.

According to Professor Evan Kontopantelis of the University of Manchester, if SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, was proven to spread via aerosols then it would have huge implications for controlling the disease. He said this could mean that wearing a mask is more important than thought.

Discussing the findings, Kontopantelis said the results of the survey suggest aerosol transmission is really possible.

"This has been suggested by other studies but our method of confirmation is novel. Though social distancing is still important because transmission by droplets is still likely to occur, it does suggest that mask wearing may be just as if not more effective in prevention," he noted.

He also pointed out that air purification in interior spaces should further be explored.  

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