Cold, Flu and Other Viruses Are Airborne, Too
Coronavirus research leads to a striking new consensus on disease spread
Throughout much of modern medicine, scientists thought respiratory viruses that caused the cold, flu and other infectious diseases were transmitted almost exclusively by close contact, coughs and sneezes, and from door handles and other surfaces. The same logic, though already considered flawed by some experts because it was based on research done in the 1930s, was applied to the coronavirus in the early days of this pandemic.
No more.
Covid-19 fueled a flurry of research that led to the widespread recognition last year that the coronavirus is airborne and that the primary means of spread is from virus particles big and small, including aerosols emitted by talking and breathing that can stay aloft for many seconds, even minutes and sometimes hours, building up in crowded indoor spaces and circulating through poorly filtered air conditioning systems.
