1/ It took 5+ mos, but the voices & concerns of many outstanding scientists and engineers was finally heard. In February I called a brilliant colleague & member of NAE, Jim Pankow, @Portland_State & said "It sure looks like the airborne pathway is important."
2/ His response was immediate - "of course it is." A long discussion ensued about possible consequences, and it was a pretty gloomy one that ranged from massive deaths to elements of society breaking down and need for strong leadership and acceptance of airborne transmission.
3/ That was in mid-February! A group of scientists/engineers in US started voicing concerns as early as then, but we were largely not heard or, in some cases, strongly criticized by those w/ a different opinion. We were not effective at getting the media's attention early on.
4/ Evidence of airborne transmission by aerosols in indoor far field continued to grow from March through July. The strong statement led by Lidia Morawska and @Don_Milton, highly respected & great researchers, and signed by nearly 240 respected scientists, was a game changer.
5/ I am so proud of the community that kept the pressure on, helped to educate the public through media, and more. Too many to name here and fear of missing some. But anyone following this discussion knows who they are.
6/ The pressure needs to be kept on. Much of the debate around this pandemic in the US has mirrored our historical medial industry, which has been skewed toward treating diseases after they occur as opposed to preventing their occurrence in the 1st place.
7/ Figuring out how to treat patients and assure hospitals and care facilities can do so while keeping heroic health care workers safe is CRITICAL. But we also have to do a much better job w/ prevention of infection, and that requires attention to ALL transmission pathways.
8/ Every indoor environment is different, but there are layered risk reduction strategies (LRRS) that should be considered in every indoor environment. In most (not all) buildings these can lead to order of magnitude or more reductions in risk of infection.
9/ I have written about these for K-12 schools and universities, but they can be extended to many indoor environments. Others alluded to above have as well. Business as usual ought to have been history months ago. The cost of doing the right thing is SO MUCH LESS than not.
