“Airborne transmission” refers to when infectious respiratory particles expel into the air, such as from coughing or sneezing, and enter the respiratory tract of another person who inhales them, according to WHO. The subcategory “direct deposition” refers to when infectious respiratory particles expel into the air and directly land on another person’s mouth, nose or eyes, potentially causing infection. “Public health agencies were hesitant to use the word ‘airborne’ because of differences in understanding among experts about what it meant. When I say ‘aerosol’, when I say ‘through the air’, it doesn’t matter whether I’m an engineer, a clinician, a nurse, a public health person. ‘There were many failures’During the pandemic, various terms were used in different ways to describe how the coronavirus could spread, causing much confusion – terms like airborne, airborne transmission or aerosol transmission.

---

Persons: ” Linsey Marr, “, ” Marr, ”, Jeremy Farrar, ” Farrar, Jessica Justman, Justman, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Stephen S, Morse Organizations: CNN, World Health, WHO, Virginia Tech, Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, CNN Health, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health