History of droplets vs. aerosol transmission

[mfb]

TL;DR

Long article discussing how our understanding of transmission changed during the pandemic

I found this interesting article: The 60-Year-Old Scientific Screwup That Helped Covid Kill

It discusses why the initial COVID recommendations were focused on 2 meters distance, hand washing but not much else, and how indoor transmission over larger distances was overlooked initially (largely increasing the impact of the pandemic) because an old tuberculosis measurement result was taken out of context long ago.

As paper: How Did We Get Here: What Are Droplets and Aerosols and How Far Do They Go? A Historical Perspective on the Transmission of Respiratory Infectious Diseases

 

[atyy]

I don't agree with the article about the WHO being late to acknowledge airborne transmission. They did acknowledge airborne transmission by around July 2020, although maybe not in a forum that most people read. See the link in https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2021/05/04/who-coronavirus-airborne/?sh=576146024472, although I don't agree with their interpretation either. There was certainly enough information by July 2020 for public health authorities etc to issue advice to improve ventilation. Singapore issued advice on ventilation in May 2020, before the WHO advice, but I would guess based on the same evidence https://www1.bca.gov.sg/docs/defaul...guidance-note-on-building-aircon-acmv-ops.pdf.