New federal guidelines that acknowledge the role of aerosols in the spread of COVID-19 were removed from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website Monday, saying they were posted by mistake.
The updated information about aerosols filled with coronavirus, which came to the attention of independent scientists on Sunday, was “a draft version of the proposed changes” that were “mistakenly posted on the agency’s official website,” a notice added on the CDC site.
A new guideline clarifying the risk posed by aerosols will be posted after the update process is completed, the notice said.
The change threatened to further undermine the CDC’s credibility amid allegations of epidemics and renewals that the Trump administration was improperly interfering with the agency’s scientific process.
A CDC spokesman said the site was properly updated without an in-house technical review. The criteria for making such changes have now been reviewed, he added.
For now, the CDC says the coronavirus is transmitted from person to person primarily through small respiratory drops that are produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or speaks. Those drops can land in other people’s noses and mouths within about six feet, potentially creating a new infection.
The draft guide added that the virus is also transmitted by small airborne particles, and that these aerosols can travel more than six feet in the gym and during exercise, in some cases, including rest restaurant rent.
Aerosols are usually light enough to stay suspended in the air – usually no more than 100 microns in size – less than the average diameter of human hair. That means spending time in indoor areas without proper ventilation would be risky, the draft said.
However, droplets and aerosols filled with the virus can surface if touched by others who touch their own noses, mouths or eyes, according to this Friday’s draft, not considered the primary way to spread the virus.
Independent researchers said Monday they are confused by the sudden reversal.
“I don’t know if it’s an honest mistake or a political influence,” said Lance Murray, an environmental engineer at Virginia Tech and an expert on airborne infections of viruses.
“I want to see the website reflect the best available scientific evidence, which is that COVID-19 is usually spread by inhalation of aerosols, and this means that we need to wear masks even when we are six feet away from others. , And we need to make sure our buildings have good ventilation.
If approved, the draft guidelines by the CDC would be a major shift in understanding the virus that claims nearly 200,000 American lives, and how it spreads. It would also mean that the agency’s current advice to stay six feet away from others and wear a mask that covers the nose and mouth covers is not enough to prevent the virus from spreading.
Marr and other researchers spent months trying to accept evidence that coronavirus was spread by aerosols from the CDC and the World Health Organization. In response to increasing pressure, WHO officials slightly modified their guidelines on July 9, allowing some outbreaks due to aerosols, but stating that the airborne transmission was not specifically indicated.
On Monday, WHO officials said they were investigating with the CDC to better understand any changes to the guidelines. Dr. Michael, Executive Director of the WHO Health Emergency Program. Michael Ryan told reporters in Geneva that he was concerned about the transmission through aerosols to the U.S. The agency was examining the “exact nature of the change, if any” in the attitude.
“Certainly we haven’t seen any new evidence, and our position on this is similar,” Rhea said.
Global scientists continue to publish new findings. A report last week from Als Nals Ann f Internal Medicine stated that aerosolic coronavirus particles can remain contagious for up to three hours.
Jose-Louis Jimenez, a Colorado boulder physicist and aerosol scientist at the university, said Monday that he was surprised to see the coronavirus described as an “airborne virus” in a draft CDC guide. The term is loosely understood to refer to a virus that spreads in the air, but is generally avoided by medical professionals as it refers to a range of infectious diseases such as measles that require extreme caution.
“We are surprised that some health official saw it and spoke to the CDC and said, ‘You can’t call it pneumonia, it’s not like measles,'” he said. The word “airborne” is ched in the minds of healthcare workers and carries the threat of a certain range of diseases that are very difficult to protect, which may be one reason for the resistance we see to the idea of spreading coronavirus. In the air. “
Murray said the CDC guide, posted Sunday, said she was surprised to see that the main way the virus was spread was the inhalation of drops and aerosols.
“I don’t know if I would agree with that, because while we have more evidence for er rossols than any other route, we don’t know how important a particular route is.”
He added, “People have been studying this for decades for the flu, and we have no numbers for that.”
The main thing is that in addition to hand washing and social distance, people should wear masks at all times when in indoor public settings, and do everything possible to ensure good ventilation and air filtration, he said.
