Deep dive by @zeynep from a sociological perspective on what we who have studied airborne transmission for a while, have been observing. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/07/opinion/coronavirus-airborne-transmission.html?smid=tw-share /1

There is a paradigm shift taking place, to correct misunderstanding in how respiratory infections are actually transmitted. /2

Traditional understanding of transmission routes was defined mainly by epidemiological observations--who gets sick when and where--and relied on being able to envision viruses moving between people in large droplets or on objects (fomites). /3

This led to incorrect assumptions about how viruses behave in the air. This, coupled with reluctance to call for N95s and negative pressure rooms in hospitals, produced a blind spot when it comes to transmission of viruses in aerosols. /4

Plus, hospitals usually have excellent ventilation, so it’s harder to see airborne transmission there. But in other buildings, it’s easier for viruses to accumulate in the air. /5

I suspect that inhalation of aerosols is the dominant route of transmission for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses, but have been afraid to say so because I have been ignored or ridiculed in the past. /6