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Stillshot from our video on social media for #WorldMaskWeek, where we invite folks to start masking again, and if they have an extra mask, to pass it on to a friend.

Monthly Newsletter, May 29, 2026

Greetings, public health PHANs! We hope you're having a healthy and safe May so far. This week we have news of our recent Zoom discussion on May 28 about mask blocs, publication of our most recent podcast episode with Jonathan Howard, an update on our RFP submission and review process, a community spotlight on a PortaCount fit testing event in San Francisco on June 7, plus events related to COVID and clean air, and news about COVID, other airborne pathogens, and clean air. 

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As part of World Mask Week (May 25-31), we co-hosted a special Zoom discussion on May 28 with advocates from Air Support Project, All About Mask Blocs. You can watch the recording on our YouTube channel. Our guest speakers were Chris Covell, who runs a mask bloc in New York state, and Babs and Max from Mask Bloc Northern Virginia (MaskBlocNoVa). This was a terrific discussion that touched on how their mask blocs got started, how they solicit masks donations or buy them in bulk, and how their communities have responded. 

 

For those of you in northern Virginia or who may have friends or family in the area who need masks, Mask Bloc Northern Virginia has provided a mask request form for anyone in the area to request masks from them. If you're looking for a mask bloc in another area, check with maskbloc.org, or look for "mask bloc" and your city or area on Instagram. If you're not able to find one in your area, email us or DM us and we'll try to find one near you. 

 

If you didn't get to attend the Zoom discussion on Clean Air and Traveling on May 5, the recording is available on our YouTube channel. We heard some terrific stories and advice from our guests Julie Lam of Mask Together America, mask advocate Daniell Kinder, and COVID-awareness educator Keith Muise.

 

On Sunday, June 28 at 7:30pm ET, PHAN and Air Support Project will present a live Zoom discussion: The Precautionary Principle. We'll discuss what it is, how it came into practice, and how it's been virtually abandoned by the healthcare community and by many government public health agencies. Our guest speakers will be Sarah Masih, MBA, MD, executive director of Air Support Project, and Dr. Jonathan Howard, author of “We Want Them Infected”, the story of how several public health speakers gained power by discarding the precautionary principle. Register in advance. You'll need a free Zoom account in order to register. This event will be recorded and we'll make it available on our YouTube channel.

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Our discussion on May 24 included a guest speaker whose respiratory protection practices were not aligned with the evidence-based public health principles we intended this discussion to uphold. Both PHAN and Air Support Project strongly support the wearing of N95+ respirators by everyone in public indoor spaces and in any setting where there is risk of airborne transmission, especially by healthcare providers in healthcare settings. 

 

Because the discussion did not meet the evidence-based standards of accuracy and clarity our communities deserve, the recording will not be released. We hope to have another discussion soon on the same topic with guests whose practices align with our goals. Thank you for your understanding and patience.

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Our second episode of “Breathe This” is now available on YouTube and Spotify, with our guest Dr. Jonathan Howard, physician and author of We Want Them Infected and Everyone Else is Lying to You. We talked about his experience at Bellevue Hospital in New York City when COVID first hit the U.S., and about his documentation of the disinformation about public health that has run rampant. Dr. Howard is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Psychiatry at NYU Langone Health and the Chief of Neurology at Bellevue Hospital. He is the author of Cognitive Errors and Diagnostic Mistakes: A Case-Based Guide to Critical Thinking in Medicine, as well as several textbooks in neurology. He writes on social media (on Twitter and Bluesky) about COVID, vaccines, and the disinformation about public health that is being spread by many so-called experts.

 

Our next episode will be with noted Long COVID advocate Adam Van Bavel, the founder and president of Maryland Indoor Air Quality Advocates. We talked at length about his Long COVID journey and struggles, and how he's working to improve indoor air quality in Maryland schools. We'll publish that next week, so subscribe to our YouTube and Spotify streams to be notified!

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PortaCount Community Mask Fit Testing, San Francisco, Sunday, June 7, 12 noon-3 pm. 

 

The Bay Area chapter of the International Order of Community Fit Testers will host a free PortaCount fit testing event in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, CA. They'll offer quantitative fit testing with a PortaCount testing instrument, to help you find your best, most protective mask. Find out more about this fit testing event and RSVP for a time slot (access code is 415). Wear your best-fitting, highest-rated respirator to the event. Bring at least one other respirator to test. You will want to bring 2-3 of each type to be tested. If time becomes a concern, the testers will limit testing to two mask types per person; they will try their best to help get everyone in a well-fitting mask.

 

Learn more about Community PortaCount Fit Testing and public fit-testing events and groups around the world.

Ongoing Meetings

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.

 

Every Monday & Sunday: Rising Hope meetings on Zoom

Rising Hope is a community of COVID-conscious supporters that meet Monday evenings, plus Sunday mornings for church services. Contact them via Reddit.

 

Every Tuesday & Sunday: WHN hosts weekly Zoom “Kids' Connect Zone” meetings on Tuesdays and Sundays for kids, teens, and families who want to connect through COVID-conscious activities, games, and discussions. Find out more at the WHN website.
 

Join Celebrate845 on Zoom for COVID Creative Coalition community meetings on Saturdays at 11AM ET. No artistic experience required. Great for visual artists, writers, graphic designers, or those interested in Street Team efforts. “Non-Hudson Valley supporters are welcomed to attend, connect & get inspired, but we'll be centering building our efforts in the HV. We are down to host breakout rooms by locale!” More info at Celebrate845.com/COVIDCreativeCoalition. 

 

The organizers at The Little Zoom Writers Room host a weekly co-writing space open to all COVID realists. Check their welcome page for more info or their account on Instagram.

 

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.

 

The COVID-Safe Art Collective holds an online gathering every Sunday at 2:30pm PT / 4:30pm CT / 5:30pm ET until 4pm PT / 6pm CT / 8pm ET for COVID-safe adults to create art or just chat and be with other aware people. Check their Instagram bio for the current Zoom link.

Clean Air Events presents PRIDEWeekend, A COVID-Safe Concert

 

 

Ongoing weekly online open-mic events with Nina Wildflower: Ben Collins, who performs as Nina Wildflower, hosts a weekly online open mic for COVID-informed performers. Each show has a designated theme but all themes are optional, as they are just a way to keep things interesting for regular performers. If you play one song that is on-theme, then you are on-theme! He's hosting these performances via the Facebook group "Still Coviding - Virtual Meetups" (private group, apply for membership). Sign up for weekly emails at ninawildflower@yahoo.com.

 

Every month: SF Neo-Futurists hosts Infinite Wrench mask-required performances on the first Saturday of each month. Infinite Wrench is a set of 30 plays in 60 minutes, new plays every week. While audience members will be required to stay masked throughout the show, performers may invite select audience members to unmask for plays that involve audience participation. All performers test weekly for COVID-19 to keep themselves and the audiences safer. Extra masks will be available for those who need them. Upcoming masked shows: June 6, August 1, Sept 5, Oct 3, Nov 7.

 

May 29, 2026: Lily Slay, the 'Lefty Folk-Rock-Country Covid-Safe Disabled Buzzkill' singer/songwriter, will perform a full free concert live over Zoom at 6p ET/5p CT/4p MT/3p PT. RSVP in advance.

 

June 7, 2026: PortaCount Community Mask Fit Testing, San Francisco. Sun., June 7. See item above.

 

June 25, 2026: phytocene, a clean-air-aware singer, songwriter, and producer living in Paris will host a mask-requested album release party and concert in Paris for her new album. She is now also offering tickets to view the event online.

 

June 28, 2026: Clean Air Events presents a COVID-Safe Pride Weekend Concert in Seattle, WA. KN95+ respirators required. Organizers will provide air purifiers, Far UVC devices, and outside air flow. Performers include Kirby Krackle, Shubzilla Bill Beats, and Klop Fen Pop. 100 W. Roy St, Seattle WA. Advance tickets available.

 

 

 

June 2, 2026: Minnesota Dept. of Health will host a webinar: “Statewide Conversation on Post-Viral Chronic Illness: A Day of Learning, Connection, and Action”. It takes place on June 2, 2026, 9AM - 2PM CT on Zoom. Though the event is MN‑focused, it is open to all.
 

June 9, 2026: The Air We Share: Shaping healthier indoor air quality in Europe and beyond. The IDEAL Cluster Summit in Brussels is bringing together seven Horizon Europe research and innovation projects, and it will convene policymakers, researchers, industry leaders and public authorities.

 

June 28, 2026: PHAN and Air Support Project present a live Zoom discussion: The Precautionary Principle. See item above.

May 25, 2026:  The Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative reports there is no formal report for May 25 due to the holiday and stable lull. PMC is piloting a new "hot spot map," which they are sharing on social media only at present.

 

May 24, 2026: From Fortune Magazine: The quiet $8 billion crisis: Long COVID costs keep rising as Washington looks away. "Headlines on long COVID have become much more rare than during the first few years of the COVID-19 pandemic. But that doesn’t mean the more than 44 million Americans who have at some point reported long COVID symptoms – a number that continues to grow – are no longer suffering, or that the U.S. isn’t paying for it. Our team’s study, which was published in 2025 in the Journal of Infectious Diseases, estimated that the total economic burden of long COVID will likely exceed US$8 billion between 2025 and the end of 2027."

 

May 26, 2026: From the International Rescue Committee: The IRC has issued an emergency watchlist flash alert about Ebola. “A new IRC Watchlist Flash Alert identifies three warning signs that this outbreak could be particularly difficult to contain: the outbreak is spreading faster than the response; conflict and displacement are accelerating the risk of regional spread; and severe global aid cuts have weakened frontline health systems and outbreak preparedness across eastern DRC.”

 

May 26, 2026: From The Independent: India reports first suspected Ebola case. A woman who traveled from Uganda has tested negative after reporting symptoms, but will undergo further screening before she is released.

 

May 27, 2026: From ABC News: CDC asks staff to volunteer to help with Ebola screenings at airports amid DRC outbreak. The CDC sent an "urgent request" to staff to help screen passengers coming from Central Africa for any potential signs of Ebola illness.

 

May 27, 2026: From JAMA: A new study suggests that approximately 1 in 6 patients who were hospitalized with COVID-19 develops postacute sequelae, predominantly chronic conditions currently invisible to surveillance systems, representing an accumulating rather than resolving health care burden. "This multisite cohort investigation reveals systematic invisibility of a chronic disease epidemic following SARS-CoV-2 infection. Validated computable phenotyping identified PASC in 13.64% to 22.69% of patients with COVID-19 across 4 regions, consistent with recent population-based studies reporting long COVID prevalence of 10% to 26% among COVID-19 survivors using alternative ascertainment approaches."  

on the lighter side…

Credit: The Vertlartnic

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