Just The News It’s now at odds with CDC, says infectious disease think tank run by former Biden COVID advisor.
COVID-19 spreads primarily through aerosols, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) said in a blog post Wednesday that puts it at odds with the CDC, according to a research center run by President Biden’s former COVID advisor Michael Osterholm.
The University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) said the White House was “years” behind some experts worldwide in recognizing the primacy of aerosol transmission. “It’s worth noting there is no mention of droplets in the blog post,” George Washington University public health epidemiologist David Michaels told CIDRAP.
The CDC maintains that “respiratory fluids” – droplets – are the “principal mode” of transmission, distinguishing them from “aerosol particles formed when these fine droplets rapidly dry.” CIDRAP research consultant Lisa Brosseau faulted the agency for “underplay[ing]” the science of aerosol transmission “despite so much evidence to the contrary.”
