Washington—Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today called on the CDC to strengthen its guidance to the public on how to remain safe from the airborne transmission of COVID-19.

“On June 5, 2020, I asked your predecessor, former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, to publish guidance that accounts for asymptomatic spread and airborne transmission in order to protect individuals and families working and residing in higher risk, congregate settings,” Senator Feinstein wrote in a letter to CDC Director Walensky.

“As we continue to fend off the spread of the new COVID-19 variants that threaten our ability to return to normal, and consistent with CDC’s announcement last week, I ask that you finally release strong guidance to ensure the public is fully informed on how to best protect themselves against airborne transmission.”

Full text of the letter follows:

May 10, 2021

Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky
Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road
Atlanta, Georgia 30329

Dear Dr. Walensky:

I write to you today to ask that, as part of efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) publish detailed guidance on how the public can best protect itself from airborne transmission of the virus, especially when indoors.

The CDC’s guidance last Friday on the risk of airborne spread reflects long-standing scientific research. For example, a June 2020 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that the novel coronavirus spreads so easily that simply talking normally can cause airborne transmission of the virus in confined environments, including outside of the six-foot distancing that has been recommended. Several other studies have also supported that airborne transmission is likely to be the dominant route of transmission and is prevalent, especially when multi-layered mitigation tactics are not practiced.

On June 5, 2020, I asked your predecessor, former CDC Director Dr. Robert Redfield, to publish guidance that accounts for asymptomatic spread and airborne transmission in order to protect individuals and families working and residing in higher risk, congregate settings. As we continue to fend off the spread of the new COVID-19 variants that threaten our ability to return to normal, and consistent with CDC’s announcement last week, I ask that you finally release strong guidance to ensure the public is fully informed on how to best protect themselves against airborne transmission.

Thank you for your consideration, and I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein
United States Senator

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