An open letter from a group of academics is urging the Biden administration to implement updates to guidance and standards that will better protect high-risk workers from the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
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An open letter from a group of academics is urging the Biden administration to implement updates to guidance and standards that will better protect high-risk workers from the novel coronavirus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
The letter, penned by 239 scientists across 32 countries, presented to the World Health Organization new evidence demonstrating that smaller viral particles can infect people, particularly people working in high-risk settings.
Based on this evidence, the scientists are asking the Biden administration to revise its recommendations, as the latest update released in June 29 only states that viral airborne transmission is possible only following medical procedures that generate aerosols, also referred to as droplets smaller than five microns.
“This is the opportunity now,” said one of the authors David Michaels, professor at George Washington University and former director of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Other authors who contributed to the letter include Rick Bright, Michael Osterholm, and Virginia Tech scientist Linsey Marr.
In the letter, the authors suggest that current Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines reflect supply chain crises faced by the country, but these guidelines have larges eased. The authors add that the CDC has failed to acknowledge mounting evidence that shows increased risks faced by essential, high-risk workers across different industries.
The scientists also criticize current guidelines recommending against the use of N95 masks outside the healthcare setting, even within healthcare settings where aerosol-generating procedures are not being performed.
“For reasons supported by science, comfort, costs, and practicality, CDC does not recommend the use of N95 respirators for protection against COVID-19 by the general public,” said CDC spokesman Jason McDonald in a statement. McDonald did not address the utility or efficacy of N95 masks worn in high-risk workplaces.
Since the guidelines were written, emerging research shows that many COVID-19 outbreaks have been linked to front-door staff members in healthcare environments. These include people like paramedics and those working in the emergency room. Other research, including one study focused on a September outbreak in a Boston hospital, showed that patients were infecting health technicians, even though they were wearing surgical masks and face shields.
“CDC guidance and recommendations do not include the control measures necessary for protecting the public and workers from inhalation exposure to SARS-CoV-2,” the authors wrote in a letter which was sent to the White House Covid-19 response coordinator Jeff Zients on Monday. Additional recipients of the letter included Dr. Walensky and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the chief medical advisor for the White House.
“The failure to address inhalation exposure to SARS-CoV-2 continues to put workers and the public at serious risk of infection,” the authors added. “People of color, many of whom work on the front lines in essential jobs, have suffered — and continue to suffer — the greatest impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
While the CDC has not reportedly responded to comments about the letter, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky has announced that the agency plans to conduct a thorough review of the guidelines as it relates to recent evidence.
In a news release, Kimberly Prather, Ph.D., one of the letter authors, and infectious disease specialist at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, said the " letter focuses on the importance of acknowledging the fact that aerosol transmission is playing a major role in spreading SARS-CoV-2.”
Dr. Prather added that the “letter encourages CDC and other federal agencies to provide clear guidance on how to best protect against inhalation exposure to aerosols so we can reopen, and safely keep open, schools and businesses.”
The authors plan to publish their letter in a scientific journal sometime this year.
