I'm not sure if this pandemic thing is starting to settle down a bit or just catching its breath for an autumn onslaught.
Either way we are not through with it yet and after three months of wind-up... and six months of delivery... this might be a good time to review our situation and talk about what we know so far!
Here is some of the latest poop from Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez
It is critical to have a clear physical description of the ways in which COVID-19 is transmitted, so that individuals and institutions are able to visualize it and will understand how to protect themselves.
Contrary to public health messaging, I, together with many other scientists, believe that a substantial share of COVID-19 cases are the result of transmission through aerosols. The evidence in favor of aerosols is stronger than that for any other pathway, and officials need to be more aggressive in expressing this reality if we want to get the pandemic under control.
There are three possible ways the virus is transmitted, of which two have been emphasized by the WHO and the CDC.
The first is through “fomites,” objects that are contaminated with the virus such as counter tops, door handles and any other surface where the little virus buggers seem to settle!
The second possibility for how COVID-19 spreads is through droplets, small bits of saliva or respiratory fluid that infected individuals expel when they cough, sneeze, or talk. Droplets—which the WHO and CDC maintain is the primary means of transmission of COVID-19—are propelled through the air, but fall to the ground after traveling 3-6 feet.
However, droplets are less important than the third potential pathway: aerosols.
This is turning out to be the real culprit for a lot of the infection folks!
“Aerosol” (airborne) transmission is similar to droplet transmission, except that the bits of fluid are so small that they can linger in the air for minutes to hours.
To understand the scale of aerosols, the diameter of a human hair is about 80 microns, and aerosols smaller than about 50 microns can float in the air long enough to be inhaled.
The WHO and CDC both state that aerosols could lead to transmission under highly specific situations, but, both organizations maintain that they are less important.
NOW COMES THE KICKER FOLKS: Dr. Jose-Luis Jimenez says: "I believe this is a significant mistake and on July 6 I, along with 239 scientists, appealed to the WHO to reevaluate their stance. WHO updated its position in response, but the agency’s language continues to express skepticism of the importance of this pathway."
Well boys and girls, whatever the circumstances are... keep a mask on your face and your hands to yourself and you should be O.K!
The way I see it anyway!
