View Comments Last week, more than a year after COVID-19 arrived in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that one of the primary mechanisms of spread is from small droplets that can float in the air, for distances greater than 6 feet. The 6-foot rule no longer applies; the virus is airborne. In poorly ventilated buildings, 60 feet is as safe as 6 feet away. These aerosols can be produced by talking, shouting and singing. This delayed proclamation will be viewed by many as a failure of science, but we need to look much deeper, for it reflects the values of our society. In Australia they prioritized life over short-term prosperity, but in actuality no country can achieve long-term prosperity without controlling this virus.