After Aerosols Misstep, Former CDC Official Criticizes Agency Over Unclear Messaging

A former CDC official criticizes the agency over its latest reversal, this time in guidance on how the coronavirus is transmitted.

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As of now, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization say the primary way the coronavirus spreads is by hitching a ride on respiratory droplets when people are in close contact.

Respiratory droplets form when someone sneezes, coughs, talks or sings, for example. They don’t travel far and fall to the ground quickly.

But on Friday, the CDC website was modified to include smaller, aerosolized particles as a way the coronavirus is commonly spread. These are the tiniest particles expelled in breath that can linger in the air and travel distances farther than 6 feet.