Super-high magnification of coronavirus particles (like the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic) spread through tiny droplets of liquid (aerosols) floating through the air. Illustration for means of transmission: droplet and aerosolized infection.

VIDEO: Doctors explain what ‘airborne’ means with COVID-19

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Whether or not COVID-19 should be considered an airborne virus has been up for debate since the early days of the pandemic.

Les Cler, MD, FACP, CPE, chief medical officer at Methodist Dallas Medical Center, says airborne transmission is largely a matter of semantics.

“In the medical community, the definition of airborne is a little different, and it really means something that’s going to linger longer in the air,” he says. “COVID-19 is transmitted mainly by large droplets produced by coughing or sneezing or talking.”

Watch Dr. Cler and his colleague Ed Dominguez, MD, discuss this topic in-depth in the video below.

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