As COVID-19 deaths in the US approach 200k, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has stirred controversy as its website published new guidance to help curb the spread of the disease before taking the new information down after a few hours, prompting commentators to accuse the national health agency of "confusing Americans" who are already feeling threatened by the virus.
BREAKING
— David Elfstrom (@DavidElfstrom) September 20, 2020
CDC changes COVID-19 guidance, airborne is primary way the virus spreads, touching surfaces is NOT the main way. #Ventilation is important, as it goes beyond 6 ft and remains suspended in the air.
H/T @jljcolorado & @jmcrookston pic.twitter.com/8EZ86q3V6i
On their website, the CDC had updated its guidelines to warn readers of the possibility of viral transmission through "droplets or small particles, such as those in aerosols" which are produced from the patient's body during breathing, unlike the previous assumption that only larger droplets resulting from sneezing or couching can potentially infect others.
However, this information was shortly removed from the website as CDC spokesman Tom Skinner told CBS that the statement was poorly written to suggest that the disease is mainly transmitted through small particles, while this is only a possibility that has not yet been entirely proven.
Following this controversy, some online commentators expressed deep frustration with the mixed statements by health experts and professionals that keep "disorienting the public and spreading fear around."
The CDC just published scientifically valid information and then pulled it off their website and this is very likely a scandal.
— Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) September 21, 2020
The CDC's goal seems to be to confuse Americans so people get fed up and don't wear masks and get sick and die. What else could it be?
— Florida Resister. #Biden-Harris2020. ??? ?? (@Paulette3052) September 21, 2020
Over the last few months, officials in the US and in other countries have come under fire for prompting many conflicting information regarding the virus that has been declared as a pandemic last January, after emerging from the wet market of the Chinese city of Wuhan.
Due to it being a new virus, scientists have been trying to study the virus, its transmission methods, and its effects as the public deals with it on a daily basis, which has caused a lot of confusion to an already panicking public.
Changes announced in regard to guidelines recommended to follow have since been drawing a lot of criticism and even anger in some cases, especially as the world warns of a second wave that could potentially be more severe than the first one of last Spring.
No transparency, no clarity. This (politically-driven) retraction by the CDC political leadership is muddying the waters, sowing confusion, making us less resilient as a nation, weakening us.
— Steve Hawes (@stevehawes1) September 22, 2020
