The CDC is already walking back its latest COVID-19 guidance.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently updated its website to acknowledge that the coronavirus is spread through the air and that "there is growing evidence that droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet," as reported by CNN on Sunday. But the agency is already walking this guidance back, as The Washington Post reports the new guidelines have now been removed. A top CDC official told the Post, "that does not reflect our current state of knowledge."
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This is yet another reversal at the CDC after last month, the agency raised eyebrows when it released a guidance that suggested not everyone exposed to COVID-19 "necessarily" needs to be tested if they are asymptomatic. Amid criticism from experts, and a report from The New York Times saying that this change was not written by CDC scientists and was published despite their objections, this guidance change was ultimately reversed.
Experts had praised the recent CDC guidance on airborne transmission of COVID-19, with University of Maryland professor Donald Milton telling CNN, "I'm very encouraged to see that the CDC is paying attention and moving with the science."
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