Is #COVID19 airborne? A contentious debate that flared up this week after 239 scientists (inc. 10 Cdns) signed a letter asking health bodies to recognize the potential. I wrote about the debate here and what you need to know, with a few points to follow: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-scientists-studying-covid-19-raise-concerns-over-airborne-transmission/

Many think "airborne" means the virus travels through the air, i.e. from a cough or sneeze. In the medical world, this form of spread is called droplet transmission. "Airborne" means viral particles are turned into very tiny aerosols that can stay suspended in air for hours.

Measles is a classic airborne illness and explains why it is so, so contagious. If someone with measles leaves a room, and an unvaccinated person enters two hours later, that person can get sick.

The overwhelming evidence shows that #COVID19 doesn't behave this way. And many of the scientists who signed the open letter published this week agree. They say #COVID19 is mainly spread through droplets, i.e. coughs, sneezes, close talking, etc.

They say that WHO, PHAC and other health orgs have done a good job at managing the pandemic. They aren't asking for authorities to classify #COVID19 as airborne. So what are they advocating for? Primarily, better ventilation in public buildings....

If there is a chance that a small fraction of #COVID19 spread occurs through the air, they say we should think about this in the context of offices, schools and other public buildings reopening. They want better ventilation to become more routine, in addition to promoting masks.

Most of the experts I spoke to who signed the letter say they believe the current droplet-based protections being used by health-care workers are sufficient. This isn't about mandating N95s for health-care workers, which they don't believe is necessary.

This is an important point, because in hospitals, airborne viruses mean workers must use airborne precautions. So to repeat: This is not what most of the experts I spoke to are advocating for. The current droplet-protections appear to work.

There has been a lot of unhelpful fear-mongering on this topic, including by some public health "experts" on Twitter, which is really unhelpful.

The scientists I spoke to who signed the letter, as well as infection control experts, agree droplet-spread is the primary risk. Airborne spread may occur. It's important to consider (not everyone agrees on how important), but focus should remain on containing droplet spread.