Greetings, public health PHANs! We hope you're having a healthy and safe February so far. This is our weekly newsletter for February 6, 2026, with upcoming events from PHAN and other organizations, plus news and articles about COVID, other airborne pathogens, and clean air. We're developing some great software tools, hosting twice monthly public Zoom meetings, producing a podcast, and making connections with people around the world. 

 

You can manage your subscriptions from the “manage preferences” link at the bottom of this email. You can support us by liking, sharing, and commenting on our social media posts on Bluesky, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. 

We had a terrific meeting on January 27th during which we presented the work we've done over the past year, including building our software platforms CARE and SAFER, developing our communications channels, and building relationships with other individuals and organizations in the clean-air-aware community. We have some big ideas in mind for 2026, including a virtual memorial for victims of Long COVID, virtual art museums, online concerts, more scientific and community meetings, developing a PPE distribution system, and becoming a U.S. distributor for Pluslife testing devices. The recording for the meeting is available from Zoom, passcode: @5u*74ZE

 

You're invited to take a survey about potential 2026 projects to help us prioritize. We have more great ideas than we can pursue, and we'd love to get your input. We very much appreciate your feedback and suggestions.

If you tried to join our Zoom meeting on Thursday about Long COVID and the Black Community with Chimére L. Sweeney, apologies for the technical difficulties. We're rescheduling the meeting for next Tuesday, Feb 10 at noon ET. This event will be co-hosted by PHAN and Air Support Project, and our special guest will be Chimére L. Sweeney, founder of The Black Long COVID Experience. Sweeney will talk about the impact of Long COVID on the Black community and how Black leaders and activists are shaping the response to Long COVID. Register in advance, and you'll need to sign up for a free account with Zoom if you don't have one already. See you there! 

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On Sunday, Feb 22, 2026, PHAN and Air Support Project  will host special guest Ruth Brooker of Clean Air for Kids UK. Ruth will be speaking about her personal experience with one of her children developing leukemia just before the pandemic, and the struggles and successes her family has had with getting him treatment safely and keeping him safe in her hometown of Bristol. The meeting will take place at noon ET. Please register in advance, and you'll need to sign up for a free account with Zoom if you don't have one already. See you there! 

our airaware widget now includes data from Canada!

We've enhanced the AirAware widget on our website that shows your localized data for air quality and COVID, RSV, and influenza wastewater data to include data from Canada! We'll keep improving this widget to show data from more countries. Any suggestions or feedback? Let us know at info@phan.global.

COVID-safe events are happening in so many areas! If you're not on Instagram, you may not see how many areas are hosting COVID-safe events. These two listings are for the DC-Maryland-Virginia area: the first is from @covidsaferdmv and the second one is from @mvmaskedrave. If you know of COVID-safe events or event listings in your area, tag us on any of your favorite social media platforms.

Ongoing Meetings

Every Saturday evening: Pandemic Pals meetings on Zoom. Every Saturday at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET, the Pandemic Collaborative hosts a Zoom call with several breakout rooms based on age groups, life situations, and special interests. Check their Google Document the day of the call for that week's Zoom link.

 

Every Sunday: The COVID-Safe Art Collective holds an online gathering every Sunday at 4:30pm until 6pm CT for COVID-safe adults to create art or just chat and be with other aware folks. Zoom link.

 

Every Monday & Sunday: Rising Hope meetings on Zoom. Rising Hope is a community of COVID-conscious folks that meet Monday evenings, plus Sunday mornings for church services. Contact them via Reddit.

 

Daily: The World Health Network hosts COVID-aware community meetings every day. Community care starts with conversation! Their Welcome page explains how to connect with their meeting groups.

All PHAN and clean-air community events are listed on our Events page.

 

February 10, 2026: Join PHAN and Air Support Project on Thursday, Feb 10, 2026 at noon ET for a discussion about Long COVID and the Black Community. See details above.

 

February 14, 2026: Goin' Viral: Valentine's Day Edition. A virtual game show/comedy showcase with Lauren Flans and Ron Placcone, inspired by stuff spreading around the world. The event takes place at 6pm ET / 3pm PT. RSVP to https://tinyurl.com/rsvpgoinviral, and a Zoom link will be sent the day of the event.

 

February 22, 2026: Join PHAN and Air Support Project on Sunday, Feb 2, 2026 at noon ET for a discussion about dealing with cancer during the pandemic. See details above.

 

March 11, 2026: Take Action Against Long COVID Demonstration in Olympia, WA. Die-in demonstration at the North Steps of the Washington State Capital in Olympia, WA, 11am-1pm. 

 

March 15, 2026: International Long COVID Awareness Day. Events will be happening that day all around the world.

February 2nd, 2026: US Weekly COVID update from the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative (PMC). The United States is currently experiencing its 12th COVID-19 wave with 60 days in a row over 500,000 estimated new daily infections. For additional data, visit the PMC Data website, and follow PMC Data author Mike Hoerger on Twitter.

December 26, 2025: An updated systematic review and meta-analysis of 97 million individuals shows that SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risk of autoimmune diseases, particularly those affecting vascular and connective tissue. 

 

January 27, 2026: A study with 3,157 participants with neurologic manifestations of post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 infection (Neuro-PASC) across countries with varying income levels: the United States (U.S.), Colombia, Nigeria, and India showed that neuro-PASC presents globally but symptom burden and psychological distress vary across regions, likely influenced by sociocultural factors, healthcare access, and diagnostic tools. The most frequent neurologic symptoms were brain fog, myalgia, dizziness, headache, and sensory disturbances, with frequency highest in the U.S. and lowest in India.  

 

January 27, 2026: Patients who have had COVID are found to have increased risks of chronic rhinosinusitis, asthma, and allergic rhinitis. 

 

January 30, 2026: Colorado Lt. Governor Primavera, as acting Governor while Governor Polis is in Washington D.C., issued a verbal disaster declaration for an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza in Weld County. 

 

February 2, 2026: Four EU Long COVID & COVID grassroots associations have officially announced the creation of Long COVID Rise Up, a new formal international federation based in Paris [including] Winslow Santé Publique, Long COVID Aragón, COVID Long Solidarité, and Col.lectiu d’Afectades i Afectats Persistents per la Covid-19. 

 

February 3, 2026: Five cases of measles were reported in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, U.S, which are the first identified in the state this year. These cases meet the federal definition of an outbreak, and state Department of Health officials are conducting contact tracing for the five unvaccinated individuals. 

 

February 3, 2026: Moderna recently announced that it plans no new late-stage vaccine trials because of policy uncertainty in the United States.

 

February 3, 2026: First vaccine targeting SARS virus family enters human trials. A vaccine called GBP511 has begun clinical testing in Australia. Pioneered by UW Medicine researchers, it is intended to protect against COVID-19 and related coronaviruses — including some that haven’t yet jumped to humans. South Korean pharmaceutical company SK bioscience is bringing the vaccine to trial.

 

February 4, 2026: Some children affected by measles in the ongoing South Carolina outbreak have developed encephalitis, or swelling of the brain, as a complication of their measles infection.

 

February 6, 2026: The state of CA's Dept of Public Health has a respiratory virus dashboard that's updated weekly with the relative rates of COVID, flu, and RSV. They're reporting that many regions in California are experiencing high levels of seasonal influenza activity, and that RSV activity is increasing in California. while COVID-19 activity remains very low statewide.

 

on the lighter side…

Credit: XKCD

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