The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has finally bowed to reality and admitted that it can be transmitted as an aerosol, as opposed to just the larger droplets.

This has been obvious for months, but public health authorities have been steadfast in their opposition to this mode of transmission since the beginning of the pandemic.

It makes dealing effectively with the virus more difficult, but more effective than ignoring reality:

Federal health officials on Friday updated public guidance about how the coronavirus spreads, emphasizing that transmission occurs by inhaling very fine respiratory droplets and aerosolized particles, as well as through contact with sprayed droplets or touching contaminated hands to one’s mouth, nose or eyes.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention now states explicitly — in large, bold lettering — that airborne virus can be inhaled even when one is more than six feet away from an infected individual. The new language, posted online, is a change from the agency’s previous position that most infections were acquired through “close contact, not airborne transmission.”

As the pandemic unfolded last year, infectious disease experts warned for months that both the C.D.C. and the World Health Organization were overlooking research that strongly suggested the coronavirus traveled aloft in small, airborne particles. Several scientists on Friday welcomed the agency’s scrapping of the term “close contact,” which they criticized as vague and said did not necessarily capture the nuances of aerosol transmission.

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The new focus underscores the need for the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue standards for employers to address potential hazards in the workplace, some experts said.

This is probably one reason that both WHO and the CDC have been loath to support airborne transmission: It requires more extensive, and more costly measures to deal with the problem.

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The new information has significant implications for indoor environments, and workplaces in particular, Dr. Michaels said. Virus-laden particles “maintain their airborne properties for hours, and they accumulate in a room that doesn’t have good ventilation.”

Yet more cost and disruption, particularly for things like reopening schools.

Aggressive action, and not reopening too soon, are required to deal with this even with vaccine rates well above 50%, and it’s going to be inconvenient as hell.