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The arrival of SARS-CoV-2, the virus answerable for COVID-19, introduced a batch of vocabulary into the public eye, from “fomite” to “social distancing.” See our guide from 2020.
And now there is a new report from the World Health Organization that proposes a set of new phrases and definitions — together with a revised method of occupied with pathogens that transmit by way of the air.
Jeremy Farrar, chief scientist of WHO, considers the doc to be a sort of base camp. With a shared vocabulary and strategy, he and his colleagues try to get public well being professionals on the similar web page to scale back confusion and streamline the containment of infections in the future.
This is required as a result of transmission is sophisticated. “It depends on my immunity. It depends on your immunity,” says Farrar. “It depends on the humidity. It depends on the size of the room. It depends on the airflow. It depends whether I’ve been vaccinated or whether I’m immune. Depends on my age. Depends on whether I’ve got diabetes or I’ve got other conditions. It’s complicated.”
NPR has ready a quiz to test your data of this new pondering — and the way WHO is hoping it will likely be used.