Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jul 22, 2025

How wearables could help detect the next Covid-19 outbreak

How wearables could help detect the next Covid-19 outbreak

Your Apple Watch or Fitbit could help detect a Covid-19 outbreak, especially when wearable data is combined with reporting of symptoms. A new US study has shown that the two sources of data improve chances of early detection.

A new study by scientists describes a tool that could help public health officials spot and contain Covid-19 outbreaks. You might already be wearing it.

One in five Americans owns a wearable device, such as a Fitbit or Apple Watch. These gadgets monitor your heart rate, how many steps you take, and your sleep patterns – measurements that often change when you’re sick.

Scientists from at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, found that combining wearable device data with symptoms better predicted if a person had Covid-19. That makes these popular devices a way to potentially track the scope and spread of the pandemic, says Dr Eric Topol, director and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and executive vice-president of Scripps Research.

“Everyone talks about ‘test, test, test’. That isn’t working,” said Topol, one of the study’s authors. “We need other ways to track the toll of the virus and who might be affected.”


Dr Eric Topol, director and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and executive vice-president of Scripps Research.


The study findings, published in the journal Nature Medicine, are part of a study called Detect – for Digital Engagement & Tracking for Early Control & Treatment. Roughly 30,000 people across the US enrolled between March 25 and June 7, sharing data from their wearable devices and reporting symptoms when they felt sick.

About 3,800 participants reported symptoms that ranged from a stomach ache to a cough to difficulty breathing and a loss of taste and smell. Of those who felt sick, 333 were tested for Covid-19; 54 tested positive and 279 tested negative.

The researchers then tried to predict who would test positive or negative with a statistical model based on self-reported symptoms; it performed about as well as a model based on wearable device data (heart rate, step count and sleep length). But combining the two predicted Covid-19 test results best.

“I see this approach as being more useful on a population level, in terms of seeing more activity in a population over time,” said Dr Chip Schooley, an infectious diseases specialist at the University of California at San Diego, who was not involved in the study.

Topol agrees, noting that researchers could regularly monitor wearable device data and self-reported symptoms to spot Covid-19 outbreaks and tip off public health officials, who could then ramp up community testing and other measures to curtail the spread of the virus.


Dr Chip Schooley is an infectious diseases specialist at the University of California at San Diego.


So far, the United States has struggled to slow the pandemic. More than 9.5 million Americans have been infected with the coronavirus so far and 234,000 have died. The US is now reporting more than one new Covid-19 case each second.

The Detect study is ongoing, with researchers looking to enrol 100,000 participants. To learn more about the study, visit detectstudy.org.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
×