by Derek Draplin
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday removed updated COVID-19 airborne transmission guidance that it says was “posted in error.”
The transmission guidance was updated on the CDC’s website on Friday, and said that “droplets and airborne particles can remain suspended in the air and be breathed in by others, and travel distances beyond 6 feet,” according to CNN. The guidance posted Friday has been removed from the agency’s website.
“A draft version of proposed changes to these recommendations was posted in error to the agency’s official website,” the CDC said Monday. “CDC is currently updating its recommendations regarding airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19). Once this process has been completed, the update language will be posted.”
The retracted guidance would have marked a significant change in the existing transmission guidance, which currently says the virus is “thought to spread mainly through close contact from person-to-person” within six-feet of distance or less.
CDC data from last month reported that 94% of COVID-19 fatalities had comorbidities, with 6% of fatalities having COVID-19 as “the only cause mentioned.”
“For deaths with conditions or causes in addition to COVID-19, on average, there were 2.6 additional conditions or causes per death,” the CDC reported.
No vaccines to combat the virus have been approved yet, but the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and Department of Defense last week released distribution plans for vaccine doses.
The United States has 6.8 million COVID-19 cases and over 199,000 reported deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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Derek Draplin is a regional editor at The Center Square.
