, Columnist
Is Covid-19 Airborne? The CDC Can't Say Yet
The agency is hurting its credibility by reversing itself.
Suddenly that home-made face mask doesn’t seem so bad.
Photographer: Fox Photos/Getty Images/Hulton ArchiveThis article is for subscribers only.
On Monday, the CDC posted and then retracted a statement about Covid-19 being an “airborne” disease. While the switch generated tons of attention from the press, infectious disease experts say it’s not clear it would have made much difference if the word had remained. The term might just confuse the public even more.
The more serious problem is that we are losing faith in the CDC just when we need it the most. Until recently, the organization was a model for similar ones around the world and was admired as a trusted source of information.