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The dangerous confusion over Covid transmission
The NHS continues to say Covid spreads primarily through ‘droplet and touch’ while the WHO emphasises airborne transmission, meaning vulnerable patients and healthcare workers face unnecessary risks, reports RUTH HUNT
A person placing a swab from a Covid 19 lateral flow test into a buffer tube contusing testing solution (picture posed by a model)

WITH the official advice from the NHS saying that Covid is mainly spread by “droplet and touch” but the World Health Organisation saying the primary spread is “airborne,” the message to staff and patients is confused, leading to a lack of protective measures, putting staff and patients at risk.

As pressures in the NHS continue, with increasing admissions for infectious viruses, there are calls to improve the infection, prevention and control (IPC) measures within the NHS and social care.

That’s because flu, Covid RSV and norovirus (droplets can be airborne when a patient vomits) can be deadly for patients who are immunosuppressed, and those with conditions like cancer who, due to treatment, are more prone to infection.

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