WEBVTT - CDC Updates Guidelines and Explains Coronavirus Air Particles

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<v Speaker 1>It's Thursday, October eight. I'm Oscar Ramirez from the Daily

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<v Speaker 1>Dive podcast in Los Angeles, and this is reopening America.

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<v Speaker 1>The CDC has updated its guidelines once again and finally

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<v Speaker 1>acknowledge that COVID nineteen can spread through aerosolized particles in

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<v Speaker 1>the air. These particles can linger in a room and

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<v Speaker 1>spread beyond six feet. This all means that it's important

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<v Speaker 1>to have proper ventilation inside and also wear a mask.

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<v Speaker 1>Caitlin McCabe, reporter at the Wall Street Journal, joins us

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<v Speaker 1>for how these tiny air particles can spread the virus.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for joining us, Caitlin, Thanks for having me. I

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<v Speaker 1>wanted to talk about some of the CDC guidance on

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<v Speaker 1>how coronavirus spreads. There's been a lot of back and

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<v Speaker 1>forth on this. It's kind of confirming now something that

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<v Speaker 1>we really thought we knew already that the coronavirus can

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<v Speaker 1>spread through tiny air particles known as aerosols. Before the

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<v Speaker 1>guidance was that it spreads through bigger droplets if someone

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<v Speaker 1>coughs or sneezes. But when somebody costs or sneezes, they

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<v Speaker 1>also produce these tiny are particles where the virus can live.

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<v Speaker 1>And as I mentioned, there's a lot of back and

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<v Speaker 1>forth from the CDC on the guidance on whether that

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<v Speaker 1>was true or not. Now they are saying that, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>coronavirus can spread by that means tell us a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit more about it. So air soil scientists have been

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<v Speaker 1>saying for months that the virus spreads this way by

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<v Speaker 1>these tiny particles that can linger in the air, and

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<v Speaker 1>we emits them at the same time that we emits

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<v Speaker 1>these larger droplets. So when we cough, or we talk,

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<v Speaker 1>or we sneeze, we can emit thousands of droplets and

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<v Speaker 1>particles of various sizes. And so pretty much from day one,

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<v Speaker 1>the CDC has said exactly what you were just referencing,

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<v Speaker 1>that it's these large droplets that can basically land on

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<v Speaker 1>someone's nose or their mouth when they're in close contact

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<v Speaker 1>with someone. But all these air soil scientists were saying, well, yes,

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<v Speaker 1>that's one mode of transmission, but these tiny air particles

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<v Speaker 1>can also spread the virus. And so they were pointing

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<v Speaker 1>to outbreaks and places like a restaurant or acquire practice

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<v Speaker 1>that indicated that people who weren't touching each other, who

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<v Speaker 1>weren't even physics near each other, we're still contracting the virus,

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<v Speaker 1>which led them to believe that there had to be

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<v Speaker 1>another way for this virus to spread. Yeah, and they're

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<v Speaker 1>saying that some of these air particles, these tinier aerosols,

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<v Speaker 1>can spread up to twenty six ft, So you can

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<v Speaker 1>be in a room with somebody and if it's poorly ventilated,

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<v Speaker 1>there's still a chance that you can get it. I

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<v Speaker 1>think it was last month. I have no concept of

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<v Speaker 1>time where I think it was the last month when

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<v Speaker 1>the CDC accidentally put out guidelines saying that yes, this

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<v Speaker 1>was true. Then they retracted it, saying that was just

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<v Speaker 1>kind of a draft. Why all the back and forth

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<v Speaker 1>from the CDC, So those initial guidelines it was last month.

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<v Speaker 1>You're right on that. They went up I think late

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<v Speaker 1>on a Friday, and no one noticed them for several days,

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<v Speaker 1>and then late Sunday people started noticing this, especially people

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<v Speaker 1>in the aerosol science community, were just so happy to

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<v Speaker 1>see this because they've been advocating and pushing for this

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<v Speaker 1>to be acknowledged for so long. And then Monday morning,

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<v Speaker 1>kind of shortly thereafter, people started paying attention to the

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<v Speaker 1>fact that these guidelines have been update if the guidelines

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<v Speaker 1>were pulled and the CDC set at the time, but

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<v Speaker 1>it was just a draft form of the guidelines that

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<v Speaker 1>were posted in error, and our reporting showed that as well,

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<v Speaker 1>that this was basically stemming from some confusion and some

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<v Speaker 1>staff posted the guidelines when it was still in draft

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<v Speaker 1>form and it hadn't been vetted by senior agency scientists.

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<v Speaker 1>So they pulled that down and then we waited for

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<v Speaker 1>I think about two weeks, and then we saw these

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<v Speaker 1>new guidelines go up. They're similar, but they're a bit

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<v Speaker 1>more nuanced, so they stressed that air sall transmission isn't

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<v Speaker 1>the main form of the way the virus has transmitted.

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<v Speaker 1>The initial version seemed to suggest that it was perhaps

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<v Speaker 1>the primary course of transmission, so it does seem to

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<v Speaker 1>address this from a more nuanced perspective. It's kind of

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<v Speaker 1>unfortunate because the CDC has had a rough go at

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<v Speaker 1>it during the pandemic, a lot of missteps, and as

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<v Speaker 1>we were just talking about posting them the guidelines, taking

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<v Speaker 1>them back and then reposting them now, the credibility the

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<v Speaker 1>CDC is unfortunately kind of taking a hit to all

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<v Speaker 1>of this. These guidelines are important because to say that

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<v Speaker 1>coronavirus spreads through this type of airborne transmission leads to

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<v Speaker 1>other effects, you know, as far as precautions for reopening

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<v Speaker 1>businesses and schools. You know, we'll need more ventilation, proper ventilation,

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<v Speaker 1>will need to keep wearing the masks. So it's important

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<v Speaker 1>that they acknowledge this because it affects all of the

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<v Speaker 1>other guidelines exactly. And I mean that's what scientists are saying.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, first, they're saying that airborne transmission doesn't mean

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<v Speaker 1>that we suddenly need to be super scared of this virus.

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<v Speaker 1>It just equips us with a better knowledge of how

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<v Speaker 1>to protect ourselves. So from the very beginning, I think

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<v Speaker 1>we've all had driven to our heads. Take six ft apart,

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<v Speaker 1>that's kind of the guideline for social distancing. Now that

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<v Speaker 1>we know that these aerosol particles can travel more than

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<v Speaker 1>six feet, we know that perhaps six feet is in

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<v Speaker 1>a hard and fast rule, and that we need to

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<v Speaker 1>be wearing masks, and we need to be striving to

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<v Speaker 1>be in areas that are well ventilated. I mean, that's

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<v Speaker 1>a little bit out of our control. As a consumer.

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<v Speaker 1>If you walk into a business, you don't necessarily know

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<v Speaker 1>what their ventilation race are, but there are ways, you know,

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<v Speaker 1>opening windows and other ways that we can try to

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<v Speaker 1>boost airflow into rooms. So it's just less being scared

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<v Speaker 1>of this and really just you know, empowering us with

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<v Speaker 1>more knowledge of how to deal with this and drives

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<v Speaker 1>transmission rates down. It just makes me very curious. You know,

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<v Speaker 1>we're hearing a lot of stories about transmission at the

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<v Speaker 1>White House, white House staffers, even on Capitol Hill staffers there,

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<v Speaker 1>and it just kind of I'm curious, is you know

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<v Speaker 1>this is true now that they're acknowledging it. These particles

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<v Speaker 1>can remain in the air for some time, even if

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<v Speaker 1>somebody goes in a room and then they leave in

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<v Speaker 1>a new crop of people come in, which I know

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<v Speaker 1>is happening constantly, different meetings and all that. Maybe this

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<v Speaker 1>could be part of what's fueling the spread in these places.

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<v Speaker 1>I think what's important to distinguish is it's not like

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<v Speaker 1>if you pop into a room for a couple of

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<v Speaker 1>seconds that you're going to be just inhaling so many

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<v Speaker 1>of these particles. The health scientists continue to say it's

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<v Speaker 1>prolonged exposure. I think people are hesitant to put any

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<v Speaker 1>kind of time frame on that because It's not a

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<v Speaker 1>hard and fast rule, just like the six feet to

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<v Speaker 1>since it's not a hard and fast rule, but it

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<v Speaker 1>really is prolonged exposure, especially if you're not wearing a mask.

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<v Speaker 1>We know that masks do offer the person wearing them

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<v Speaker 1>some own personal protection, so there are steps that we

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<v Speaker 1>can take to prevent this. Caitlin McCabe, reporter at the

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<v Speaker 1>Wall Street Journal, thank you very much for joining us.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for having me. I'm Austar Ramirez and this has

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<v Speaker 1>been reopening America. Don't forget effort today's big news stories.

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<v Speaker 1>You can check me out on the Daily Dive podcast

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