The Centers for Disease Control and prevention have shortly removed information from their website saying that COVID-19 can spread through the air and that it can travel distances farther than 6 feet. It also had released some statements saying that the virus spread when people inhaled the particles that came from others.
Earlier today, an update has been taken down form a page called “How COVID-19 Spreads”. Right now, the site displays a banner at the top saying that the information was wrongly posted.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) tweeted that the alteration is “very likely a scandal.”
The experts were pleased to see the original update. For months now, many are stressing that the virus can travel via tiny particles that float more slowly through the air, not only through the larger droplets that fall to the ground. This is why both indoor ventilating spaces and wearing masks are just as important than keeping six feet distance from each other.
However, the CDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) are reluctant to acknowledge the role those tiny airborne particles can play in disease spread. By the beginning of the pandemic, the agencies have concluded that the coronavirus spread from one individual to another was in close contact with each other, through massive, large droplets are produced when someone who is sick coughed or sneezed. Research now displays that there are different ways that the virus can be transmitted; it includes thru aerosols. However, the guidance of the CDC and WHO has not changed; the WHO wants to see more evidence before making a rule on transmission methods.
The guidance’s removal from the CDC website won’t change how many public health experts assume about COVID-19, they also have been stressing the importance of ventilation for a matter of months now, even without the agency’s support. It already has an impact the schools, businesses, and other organizations that may lean on CDC recommendations in making decisions about what types of precautions they should take to combat the number of diseases, including COVID-19. When the agency strains the importance of little droplets and encourages ventilation, and it could change how those groups prepare to keep people secure.
Even if it was accidental, the statement has taken away trust from the people. Typically the CDC guidance is reliable and is the first place where doctors might turn to for help about how to handle the disease. Amid the pandemic, the direction has been used as a political football; for instance, it was reported that the Department of Health and Human Services have ignored scientific advice and published a guideline on the CDC website saying that people without symptoms did not need to be tested for COVID-19. The statement went against public health recommendations and was eventually reversed.
CDC’s website states that its recommendations around airborne contamination of the coronavirus are still being updated. It is not clear when the final version is to be posted.
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