State officials told Kansas schools they could fill the air with chemical mist to fight COVID-19 in classrooms.
The suggested gadgets coat doorknobs, tables and other surfaces with disinfectant.
But when the Kansas News Service showed the state guidance on electrostatic sprayers and foggers to scientists, one called it “surprising and disappointing.” Another classified it as “a huge error.”
The foggers and sprayers could actually make the air unhealthier, experts warned, without making people safer from COVID-19.
“It’s very unfortunate,” said Jose-Luis Jimenez, an expert in air chemistry and disease transmission at the University of Colorado Boulder.
The state’s recommendation reflects, in part, lingering public confusion over how COVID-19 spreads, and reluctance at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to back off of the idea that germs on surfaces fuel the pandemic.
The CDC recently acknowledged that surfaces appear to pose little risk compared to air. catching up to scientists who have argued that for many months.
That undercuts the already questionable case for using electrostatic sprayers and foggers in classrooms.
“The science is clear,” said Joseph Allen, a professor at Harvard University’s School of Public Health.
“The idea that you have to cover every surface in the room with a disinfectant every day doesn’t make sense,” he said.
The Kansas News Service took scientists’ concerns to the state education and health departments, both of which worked on the school guidance. A Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokeswoman said the advice on sprayers and foggers is outdated and not recommended.
An education department spokeswoman said the state commissioner would confirm the matter with health officials. He could then recommend that the State Board of Education make changes to the part of its 1,200-page pandemic guidelines that discusses the disinfectants.
When the pandemic hit last year, panic over germy surfaces opened new markets for sellers of foggers, sprayers and (more below) electronic air cleaners.
School leaders bombarded experts like professor Jimenez with emails asking for help making sense of the parade of ads they received.
Manufacturers contacted Jimenez, too, seeking his blessing. He would ask to see details that verified the safety of their products, and especially the chemical side effects.
