What makes some one a COVID-19 super-spreader? Tulane researchers help narrow it down and trace the origin of the initial 2020 Mardi Gras outbreak What makes some one a COVID-19 super-spreader? By Kaitlin Rust | February 10, 2021 at 9:55 PM CST - Updated February 10 at 10:25 PM NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - Researchers at Tulane University have contributed to two significant COVID-19 super-spreader studies and have started to narrow down how the virus is transmitted. “There’s not a lot of solid stuff around how this disease is transmitted,” Dr. Chad Roy said. We know COVID is airborne, but after studying almost 200 people researchers from Tulane and several other universities suggest people who are older with a higher body mass index breathe out more respiratory droplets with the virus.