The WHO Says Airborne Coronavirus Transmission Isn ’t a Big Risk. Scientists Are Pushing Back

For months, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said COVID-19 spreads mainly via direct contact with large respiratory droplets, like those expelled in a sick person’s cough or sneeze. In a letter published this week in Clinical Infectious Diseases, 239 scientists say the agency may be wrong. It’s only the latest chapter in an ongoing tug of war between the WHO and the rest of the public-health world. “This is one in a series of many miscues,” says Dr. Eric Topol, director and founder of the Scripps Research Translational Institute. “It’s really unfortunate how the WHO has led to all sorts of confusion.” The new letter, which was co-written by a WHO consultant and reviewed by experts from more than 30 countries, argues the WHO and other health authorities are not paying enough attention to airborne COVID-19 transmission—that is, infection via inhaling tiny respiratory droplets that can linger in the air. WHO officials acknowledged that possible route of transmission at a press conference Tuesday, after the letter was published, but said it continues to collect evidence. “We have been talking about the possibility of airborne transmission and aerosol transmission as one of the modes of transmission of COVID-19,” Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead for COVID-19, said. Studies of other viruses completed before the pandemic have “demonstrated beyond any reasonable doubt” that droplets exp...
Source: TIME: Health - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Uncategorized COVID-19 Source Type: news