Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Airborne Transmission

Science Rejected, Lives Lost. Can Society Do Better?

Journal article (2023)

Authors

Lidia Morawska Queensland University of Technology
W. Bahnfleth The Pennsylvania State University
P.M. Bluyssen Environmental & Climate Design - Architecture and the Built Environment
G. Buonanno University of Cassino and Southern Lazio
S.J. Dancer Edinburgh Napier University
Andres Floto University of Cambridge
Francesco Franchimon Franchimon ICM
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Research Group
Environmental & Climate Design (Architecture and the Built Environment) (TU Delft)
Copyright: © 2023 Lidia Morawska, William Bahnfleth, P.M. Bluyssen, Atze Boerstra, Giorgio Buonanno, Stephanie J. Dancer, Andres Floto, Francesco Franchimon, Jaap Hogeling, More Authors
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/cid/ciad068
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Published Date

2023

Language

English

Faculty

Architecture and the Built Environment

Department

Architectural Engineering +Technology

Research Group

Environmental & Climate Design

Abstract

This is an account that should be heard of an important struggle: the struggle of a large group of experts who came together at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to warn the world about the risk of airborne transmission and the consequences of ignoring it. We alerted the World Health Organization about the potential significance of the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and the urgent need to control it, but our concerns were dismissed. Here we describe how this happened and the consequences. We hope that by reporting this story we can raise awareness of the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration and the need to be open to new evidence, and to prevent it from happening again. Acknowledgement of an issue, and the emergence of new evidence related to it, is the first necessary step towards finding effective mitigation solutions.