CDC recently posted new guidance indicating there is reason to believe that coronavirus can spread by being airborne. However, the department has now quickly removed those claims, saying that the info was posted in error. According to The Washington Post, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention first added the new details on Friday and then changed it on Monday.
The Friday update stated that “small particles, such as those in aerosols” were a factor in the spread of COVID-19, though the majority of spread appears to be through close proximity. The CDC’s deputy director for infectious disease, Jay Butler, has now said that the Friday update was posted in error. “Unfortunately an early draft of a revision went up without any technical review,” he stated. The CDC website has since scrubbed all references to airborne spread. “We are returning to the earlier version and revisiting that process,” Butler stated. “It was a failure of process at CDC.”
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The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it recently posted guidance on possible transmission of the new coronavirus through airborne particles in error and it will be updating its recommendations https://t.co/Uon0a7yAmH pic.twitter.com/vtmF7WgtgB
— Reuters (@Reuters) September 21, 2020
The change has sparked a lot of debate online, with many health officials and political leaders questioning the motives behind the alterations. In a comprehensive statement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote, “We need science, not politics. The sudden removal of new CDC guidance on airborne coronavirus spread is the latest example of a deeply broken Trump Administration response that sows confusion, fans the virus’s spread and costs Americans’ lives. We have seen a relentless campaign by the Trump Administration to downplay the virus, muzzle scientists, and bury urgent warnings about the serious harm of President Trump’s attempts to rush Americans back into unsafe schools and workplaces.”
Nearly 200,000 Americans have died. Almost seven million Americans have been infected. The sudden removal of CDC guidelines on airborne coronavirus spread is the latest sign of the Trump Admin’s broken response to this crisis, which continues to cost American lives.
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) September 21, 2020
She added: “The American people need to hear directly from the scientists about how the virus spreads and what precautions are necessary – not guidance that worries more about contradicting President Trump than keeping families safe. Nearly 200,000 Americans have died. Almost seven million Americans have been infected. The Trump Administration must stop muzzling scientists and medical experts.”
