US top health body acknowledges ‘Covid-19 virus is airborne’; WHO also supports it

May 9: The US Centres for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) in its revised guidelines stated that airborne transmission is one of several ways the Covid-19 virus can spread. The CDC acknowledged that people can get infected by inhaling very fine, aerosolized particles carrying the virus.

The CDC in its updated public guidelines mentioned that SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted by exposure to infectious respiratory fluids. The agency said that while talking, people release respiratory fluids (droplets) which then settle on nearby surfaces or can remain suspended in the air for minutes to hours. Especially, a Covid-19 positive patient exhaling virus indoors for a greater period of time can lead to concentration of the virus in the air, which may then infect people even if they are six feet away.

Over a year since declaring Covid-19 a pandemic, the World Health Organization has finally admitted that Coronavirus is airborne. In its latest brief, the World Health Organisation (WHO) also said, “Current evidence suggests that the virus spreads mainly between people who are in close contact with each other, typically within 1 metre (short-range). A person can be infected when aerosols or droplets containing the virus are inhaled or come directly into contact with the eyes, nose, or mouth.”

WHO released a new scientific brief on transmission of SARS-CoV-2 that stated: “Short-range aerosol transmission, particularly in specific indoor locations, such as crowded and inadequately ventilated spaces over a prolonged period of time with infected persons cannot be ruled out.”

Epidemiologist Bill Hanage interpreted WHO’s statement to mean: “While it is reasonable to think it can happen, there’s not consistent evidence that it is happening often.” In other words, WHO believed that spreading via aerosols was rare.

The US CDC said while the understanding of how the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs has shifted, the ways to prevent infection have not. This means that the use of face masks (double masking), hand hygiene and social distancing remain the best ways to prevent infection even after getting vaccinated against Covid-19.