With Trump out of office and Biden now taking credit for all pandemic-related progress, several new studies – some of them picked up by MSM outlets, have significantly dialed back the fear (asymptomatic spread is less common than previously thought, surfaces are actually pretty safe, etc.).
Now, the New York Times of all outlets is calling out the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for a bullshit claim that “less than 10 percent” of COVID-19 transmission happens outdoors.
In reality, it’s more like 1% or less, and the Times nails them on it.
“…the number is almost certainly misleading,” writes David Leonhardt. “Saying that less than 10 percent of Covid transmission occurs outdoors is akin to saying that sharks attack fewer than 20,000 swimmers a year. (The actual worldwide number is around 150.) It’s both true and deceiving.”
It appears to be based partly on a misclassification of some Covid transmission that actually took place in enclosed spaces (as I explain below). An even bigger issue is the extreme caution of C.D.C. officials, who picked a benchmark — 10 percent — so high that nobody could reasonably dispute it.
That benchmark “seems to be a huge exaggeration,” as Dr. Muge Cevik, a virologist at the University of St. Andrews, said. In truth, the share of transmission that has occurred outdoors seems to be below 1 percent and may be below 0.1 percent, multiple epidemiologists told me. The rare outdoor transmission that has happened almost all seems to have involved crowded places or close conversation. -NYT
The CDC is then called out for continuing to treat outdoor transmission as a major risk – saying unvaccinated people should wear masks in most outdoor settings, while those who have gotten the jab should still wear them at “large public venues.” Summer camps, meanwhile, should require children to wear them “at all times” according to the agency.
In reality, it’s more like 1% or less, and the Times nails them on it.
“…the number is almost certainly misleading,” writes David Leonhardt. “Saying that less than 10 percent of Covid transmission occurs outdoors is akin to saying that sharks attack fewer than 20,000 swimmers a year. (The actual worldwide number is around 150.) It’s both true and deceiving.”
It appears to be based partly on a misclassification of some Covid transmission that actually took place in enclosed spaces (as I explain below). An even bigger issue is the extreme caution of C.D.C. officials, who picked a benchmark — 10 percent — so high that nobody could reasonably dispute it.
That benchmark “seems to be a huge exaggeration,” as Dr. Muge Cevik, a virologist at the University of St. Andrews, said. In truth, the share of transmission that has occurred outdoors seems to be below 1 percent and may be below 0.1 percent, multiple epidemiologists told me. The rare outdoor transmission that has happened almost all seems to have involved crowded places or close conversation. -NYT
The CDC is then called out for continuing to treat outdoor transmission as a major risk – saying unvaccinated people should wear masks in most outdoor settings, while those who have gotten the jab should still wear them at “large public venues.” Summer camps, meanwhile, should require children to wear them “at all times” according to the agency.
Republished from ZeroHedge.com with permission
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