Our Early Confusion About Airborne COVID-19 Transmission Still Haunts Us

Two years after the pandemic began, we finally have a good understanding of how COVID-19 is transmitted: some infected people exhale virus in small, invisible particles (aerosols). These do not fall quickly to the ground, but move in the air like cigarette smoke.

 Hygiene Theater Is Still a Huge Waste of Time

Too many people imagine the fight against COVID-19 as a land war to be waged with sudsy hand-to-hand combat against grimy surfaces.

COVID-19 transmission—up in the air

During the initial stages of the pandemic there was concern about surface transmission. However, latest research suggests that this is unlikely to be a major route of transmission as although SARS-CoV-2 can persist for days on inanimate surfaces, attempts to culture the virus from these surfaces were unsuccessful.

The Coronavirus Is Airborne Indoors. Why Are We Still Scrubbing Surfaces?

Scientists who initially warned about contaminated surfaces now say that the virus spreads primarily through inhaled droplets, and that there is little to no evidence that deep cleaning mitigates the threat indoors.

How superspreading is fueling the pandemic — and how we can stop it

We now know that, on average, most people with the novel coronavirus pass the virus to just one other person, or to no one else at all. But some go on to infect many, many more, often before they even experience symptoms. Many of these transmission chains begin with “superspreading” events, where one person (usually in a crowded indoor space) passes the virus to dozens of others.

Research shows conversation quickly spreads droplets more than six feet inside buildings

With implications for the transmission of diseases like COVID-19, researchers have found that ordinary conversation creates a conical, “jet-like” airflow that quickly carries a spray of tiny droplets from a speaker’s mouth across meters of an interior space.

Scientists say the coronavirus is airborne. Here’s what that means.

The bottom line, as a trio of engineers from Clarkson University writes in the Conversation, is that “while staying six feet from other people reduces exposure, it might not be sufficient in all situations, such as in enclosed, poorly ventilated rooms.”

The Coronavirus May Be Adrift in Indoor Air, C.D.C. Acknowledges

After removing guidance from its website acknowledging “airborne” transmission, the agency cited evidence that indoor air can carry virus-laden particles.

What A Summer Of COVID-19 Taught Scientists About Indoor vs. Outdoor Transmission

And if there is one thing we can definitively state, it’s that this virus is much, much less likely to spread outdoors than in.

What Do Two New Studies Really Tell Us About Coronavirus Transmission on Planes?

While it’s likely these two case studies identified cases in which COVID-19 was transmitted aboard planes, the exact mechanisms of transmissions are not crystal clear.

When it comes to airborne COVID-19 transmission, droplet size matters

But this doesn’t rule out the danger of inhaling tiny particles.

Why you’re unlikely to get the coronavirus from runners or cyclists

Understanding the key concepts of transmissibility and infectious dose should reassure you.

An epidemiologist explains the new CDC guidance on 15 minutes of exposure and what it means for you

The previous guidance suggested that a close contact occurred when a person was within six feet of an infectious individual for 15 consecutive minutes. Now, the CDC is acknowledging that even brief contact can lead to transmission. Specifically, the new guidance suggests that those spending a total of 15 minutes of contact with an infectious person over the course of a 24-hour period should be considered in close contact. Despite the change, most public health professionals have been clear for months that there is nothing magic about six feet. In the same way, there is nothing magic about 15 minutes.

How exactly do we spread droplets as we talk? Engineers found out.

For the first time, researchers have directly visualized how speaking produces and expels droplets of saliva into the air. The smallest droplets can be inhaled by other people and are a primary way that respiratory infections like COVID-19 spread from person to person.

Poor ventilation may be adding to nursing homes’ COVID-19 risks

Why are so many aged care residents and staff becoming infected with COVID-19? New research suggests poor ventilation may be one of the factors. RMIT researchers are finding levels of carbon dioxide in some nursing homes that are more than three times the recommended level, which points to poor ventilation.

We Need to Talk About Ventilation

There are two key mitigation strategies for countering poor ventilation and virus-laden aerosols indoors: We can dilute viral particles’ presence by exchanging air in the room with air from outside (and thus lowering the dose, which matters for the possibility and the severity of infection) or we can remove viral particles from the air with filters.

CDC Admits the Coronavirus Is Airborne, Can Be Transmitted More Than 6 Feet Away

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is finally acknowledging something that health experts have been saying for a while now: COVID-19 spreads through the air and can be inhaled by someone who is more than six feet away.

COVID-19 Is Transmitted Through Aerosols. We Have Enough Evidence, Now It Is Time to Act

It is important to think about ventilation and air cleaning. We take operable windows and HVAC systems for granted, rarely paying attention to how they work. Times are different now, and we need to learn how to best use these systems to decrease risk.

Experts say COVID’s airborne transmission may deserve more attention

Researchers who study tiny aerosols are concerned that the role of these particles is being downplayed in public health communication.

The Coronavirus Is Airborne. Keep Saying It.

It’s a jarring message, and the right one.

The COVID-19 Virus Is Mutating. What Does That Mean for Vaccines?

As we enter the second year of living with the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, the virus is celebrating its invasion of the world’s population with yet more mutated forms that help it to spread more easily from person to person.

This Overlooked Variable Is the Key to the Pandemic

It’s not R..

Ventilation and viral loads: the key misunderstandings of how coronavirus spreads

Virologist and NervTag member Dr Muge Cevik explains the research that may reshape our understanding COVID-19.

What A Summer Of COVID-19 Taught Scientists About Indoor vs. Outdoor Transmission

And if there is one thing we can definitively state, it’s that this virus is much, much less likely to spread outdoors than in.

What is the ACE2 receptor, how is it connected to coronavirus and why might it be key to treating COVID-19?

In the search for treatments for COVID-19, many researchers are focusing their attention on a specific protein that allows the virus to infect human cells. Called the angiotensin-converting enzyme 2, or ACE2 “receptor,” the protein provides the entry point for the coronavirus to hook into and infect a wide range of human cells. Might this be central in how to treat this disease?

Why Some Experts Say Humidifiers Could Help Against Covid-19

Your warm, dry home can be a hotbed for Covid-19 infections, but is a humidifier helpful and safe?

Why the COVID-19 Debate Between Aerosols and Droplets Matters Less Than You Think

For most people, the way to avoid the coronavirus will stay the same, no matter how it’s spread.