What's the difference between contagious and transmittable?

[CherryValanc]

I know I'm slow off the mark for asking this one as the general parlance seems to have switched to transmittable. But I've been looking elsewhere and I'm can't see what the difference has.

Why is the word transmittable being used now when talking about the new variants? Unless it's just a case I've only noticed the use a while back and now it seems to be everywhere!

Surely no difference? I

I don’t think there is one. I think the language has changed because this new variant is more contagious but not more virulent. There was early confusion over whether it would make people sicker (it doesn’t it would seem) so it seems clearer to say transmittable.

Well yes, that's what I feel.

But it also seems to be that transmittable is being used now, where contagious was being.

I don't recall reading the word transmittable before.

As I said, i could very well have but got the idea it's changed and now have a case of confirmation bias!!

@Cornettoninja

I don’t think there is one. I think the language has changed because this new variant is more contagious but not more virulent. There was early confusion over whether it would make people sicker (it doesn’t it would seem) so it seems clearer to say transmittable.

Ah, ok, that might be it. The word "contagious" could be interpreted as deadlier.

I was just starting an article about the spike proteins and now they are using the word "infectious" about the mutations.

I'm trying not to head down a semantic worm hole

This is a funny one, I was wondering if transmittable is really a word..

"Transmissible and transmittable are both adjective forms of the verb transmit. Transmissible was once used similarly to transferable but now almost exclusively occurs in the context of contagious disease. Meanwhile transmittable is rarely used outside of technological discussions about sound, light, or data."

Which one's being used?

It's actually transmissible isn't it? Even though I wrote transmittable (many times).