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Behind the CAN99 respirator is Skye Tin Chan (@subluxatingskye). Skye is an ambulatory wheelchair user and wears orthotics due to likely hEDS and associated comorbidities like ME, dysautonomia, and gastroparesis. Photo courtesy Mask Together America.

Weekly Newsletter, July 10, 2026

Greetings, public health PHANs! We hope you're having a healthy and safe July so far.  Happy Disability Pride Month!

 

This week we have news of an upcoming Zoom discussion on July 26 with Amy Stewart, LCSW, who will discuss stress management with being air-aware, a recap of our discussion with Megan Carmilani about accommodations for kids with Long COVID, a community spotlight on GoGreen Initiative's Healthier Schools national partner network, a creators' spotlight on a weekly virtual art show, plus listings for events related to COVID and clean air, and news about COVID, other airborne pathogens, and clean air. 

 

If you have news or events that you think would be useful for our newsletter, or just feedback on the newsletter or PHAN's work, email us at info@phan.global. We would love to hear what you think!

This Disability Pride Month, it's okay if you are still accepting a new state or a new baseline. It's okay if you are tired of the fight. Wherever you are on this path, you are a vital part of a community that is stronger because you are here. We're proud of you, grateful for you, and proud of who we are together.

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Are you stressed from worry about masking and being air-aware when it seems like nobody else around you cares? Or is having Long COVID stressing you out? Join PHAN and Air Support Project on Sunday, July 26 for a discussion with guest speaker Amy Stewart, LCSW, about managing stress with being air-aware and living with Long COVID and other chronic illnesses. She'll talk about what you can do to minimize the impact of stressful situations, and how to handle stress when you already have it. Register in advance. You'll need a Zoom account in order to register, and if you don't have one already, you can sign up for a free account.

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On July 2nd, we co-hosted a terrific Zoom discussion with Air Support Project about accommodations for kids with long COVID with guest speaker Megan Carmilani, founder and president of Long Covid Families. This event was recorded and is now available on  YouTube. Carmilani also serves as a voting member of the NIH RECOVER Pediatric Coordinating Committee and contributes to the RECOVER Community Engagement Group to make sure families are able to help shape national research. She talked about how kids and families are affected by long COVID, how families with children with long COVID can make their kids' education and activities safe and accessible, and what resources are available for them.

GoGreen Initiative has published a new blog post, "Building Healthier Schools Together", to introduce the national partner network helping GGI bring evidence-based IAQ and sustainability solutions to school districts across the country. Their partner network includes:

We're excited about the GoGreen Initiative's efforts creating this national partner network and we'll keep our supporters updated on its progress.

The Friendly, Not a Big Deal Art Show is a low-stakes place for artists to share and celebrate our existing work online. So often our work gets buried in digital archives, closets, or behind new work after having been shared once (or never). Join @friendlynbd.artshow on Instagram for a virtual weekly art show as a welcoming place to say hey, I made this. Crafts, art, and poetry/micro writing are all welcome! 

The organizer will also have a dedicated art show on their website every few months, which features 13 artists.

 

 

July 19, 2026: The COVID-19 Long Haulers Discussion Group on Facebook will host an online meeting with Cat Fraser, a public health advocate and strategist who's developed a “bioreality” tool that lets anyone map out their health journey, and if they wish, submit their “health map” anonymously so that a larger picture of the overall effects of COVID and other diseases can be seen more easily. The meeting takes place at 2pm ET / 7pm GMT and will be simultaneously shown on YouTube.

 

July 22, 2026: Beyond Long COVID: What reinfection costs you, and what mitigation returns. Marty Pack, M.A., Exec MPA is a subject matter expert in regulatory affairs for Long COVID bio-risk and bio-safety, and will host a live online seminar about an economic model she created called "the COVID Mitigation ROI Economic Model", grounded in 121 peer reviewed sources and standard federal cost benefit methodology. Its methodology is aligned with and verified through the OECD's framework, confirmed April 2026.

 

July 26, 2026: PHAN and ASP will co-host a Zoom discussion about stress awareness with being air-aware, with guest speaker Amy Stewart, LCSW. See item above.

 

August 26-29, 2026: ISLC-PAIS Conference. International Society for Long COVID and Post-Acute Infection Syndromes. Amsterdam (the Netherlands). Speakers will include: David Putrino, Professor & Director of Rehabilitation Innovation at Mount Sinai, and a leading researcher in rehabilitation and Long COVID; and Ziyad Al-Aly, Director of Clinical Epidemiology (VA Saint Louis Health Care System) & Professor (Washington University of St. Louis School of Medicine). Dr. Al-Aly is an influential epidemiologist whose large-scale population studies have defined the long-term, multi-organ risks of COVID-19, and a member of the board of Public Health Action Network.

WHN hosts a twice-weekly Zoom meeting where kids of COVID-conscious families can connect

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.

 

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. More info at Celebrate845.com/COVIDCreativeCoalition. 

 

Every Saturday: 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 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.

 

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.

 

Molly was a professional actor and clown for 30 years in Chicago, and has had fellowships as well as guest lecture and teaching artist positions all over the country. She hosts an in-person and remote class once a month about how to create theatrical performances in a respirator. Sign up for her mailing list to get the remote link.

CSL publishes a weekly list of COVID-safe events and performance in the San Francisco Bay Area

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.

 

Weekly COVID-safe events in the Bay Area: 

Every week, the CSL3 Patreon page publishes a list of COVID-safe events and performances in the San Francisco Bay Area.

 

Once a month, airborne-aware folks in the South Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area meet at 15980 Blossom Hill Rd in Los Gatos for games, puzzles, coloring, and socializing. Email SouthBayMaskedEvents@gmail.com for details and to be added to the mailing list.

 

Every month in San Francisco: Infinite Wrench 

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 and extra masks will be available for those who need them. Upcoming masked shows: August 1, Sept 5, Oct 3, Nov 7.

July 6, 2026: From the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative: “There was no COVID Report for July 6 due to the CDC’s holiday-associated reporting delay. However, we have updated the interactive map, which shows 7 hot spots. We are keeping a close eye on Houston; the PMC map is conservative in depicting median very low levels (2 sites very high, 2 low, 4 very low). Harris County (Houston) had 67 sites report in May, but only 8 today, with 5 rising meaningfully to precipitously. The very high levels in the adjacent county of Fort Bend have fallen, whereas the very low levels in the adjacent county of Montgomery have risen quickly. The wave in SE Florida has also worsened. The levels in Plumas (CA) are exceedingly high, similar to 2/3 the level of the national BA.1. Omicron surge.”

 

June 26, 2026: From CIDRAP: Adults with long COVID experience more productivity loss on the job and are more likely to leave the workplace altogether compared with people who recover from COVID or never develop persistent symptoms, according to a study published this week in the International Journal of Infectious Diseases.  

 

July 1, 2026: WHO is hosting a global youth video contest about the prevention and control of influenza and COVID-19. Submissions can be sent from August 3, 2026 until September 13, 2026. 

 

July 1, 2026: WHN has released the July issue of their Kids' Zone COVID-Conscious Magazine. This is a fun magazine for kids, containing puzzles, creative activities, and informative articles about science and self-care.

 

July 1, 2026: WHN hosted a webinar on Clean Air in Schools, with guest speakers Liesl McConchie, Lisa Greenfield, Mary Jo Nabuurs, and Ruth Brooker. 

 

July 2, 2026: Germany to require doctor's note on the first day of employee sick leave to curb absences.

 

July 8, 2026: From AP: Ebola healthcare workers in Congo are walking off their jobs to protest delays in their payments and dangerous work conditions. They told The Associated Press that they’ve not been paid their wages and bonuses since the outbreak was declared on May 15. They also alleged they were working with limited gear, and were being treated unfairly by authorities as well as response teams. 

 

July 9, 2026: From CIDRAP: Long-lasting vision problems following mild cases of COVID-19 may stem from persistent inflammation and nerve damage, even as the results of standard eye examinations appear normal, according to a study today in Nature Communications.

 

on the lighter side…

Credit: The Vertlartnic

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