Carl Zimmer's book, 'Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe,' critiques the public health response to airborne transmissions. Highlighting historical context, Zimmer questions how fundamental misunderstandings of transmission persist, especially with recent measles outbreaks and the COVID-19 pandemic. He uses the example of the WHO's initial denial that COVID-19 was airborne, which led to misleading preventive measures based on droplet transmission alone. Zimmer argues this resulted in outbreaks like the one at the Skagit Valley Chorale, illustrating the ongoing challenges in addressing airborne pathogens effectively.
A Devastating Error. In answer to that question, Zimmer reminds us of a now-infamous tweet the World Health Organization sent out on March 28, 2020... "FACT: #COVID19 is NOT airborne." This misinformation perpetuated misunderstanding about transmission.
The exasperation boils over midway through Carl Zimmer's brilliant and compelling new book, Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe. Although pitched in 1978... the question has an oddly contemporary ring.
How could such a fundamental mystery about the worst public health disaster in a century go unsolved for so long? As Zimmer asks of the health agencies that published competing accounts of how SARS-CoV-2 spreads.
Zimmer recounts the outbreak of COVID among the Skagit Valley Chorale, a choir based in Washington state. This outbreak made international news because the groupâs rehearsal highlighted the risks posed by airborne transmission.
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