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“I have been dealing with brain fog, chronic fatigue, and air hunger post-COVlD. It has impacted my singing and bandleading significantly.” — Behind the KN95 is Prasanna (@prasanna_hq), a singer and songwriter based in NYC.  Photo courtesy Mask Together America.

Weekly Newsletter, September 18, 2026

Greetings, public health PHANs! We hope you're having a healthy and safe September so far.  Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! This awareness month starts on September 15 and runs through to October 15.

 

If you're new to PHAN, our mission is to reduce indoor airborne pathogens and to establish the right to clean indoor air as a human right. We promote evidence-based research on COVID, other airborne pathogens, and clean-air devices; we build bridges with other organizations that are working for clean indoor air; and we develop and promote technologies that will help those in the air-aware community keep themselves, their families, and their communities safe.

 

In this week's issue:

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

A Windy City Toolbank volunteer and Air Support Project president Sarah Masih show off the recent arrival of Smart Air air purifiers that will be lent out to Chicago-area groups

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The CBS affiliate in Chicago recently published a great article about their visit to the Chicago Clean Air Resilience Network (Chi-CARN) warehouse, during which they interviewed several people involved in the new project, including PHAN CEO Tarz Ludwigsen; Windy City ToolBank executive director Jess Pohto; Air Support Project president Sarah Masih; and Air Support Project vice-president Melissa Smallwood.

 

Over the summer, Chicago was blanketed with the worst wildfire smoke event in the city's history, leaving vulnerable people and families scrambling to protect their lungs when even their own homes were no longer a safe place to shelter. This is not the first time that Chicago has experienced an air quality crisis like this, and it will not be the last, which is why we are trying to build a permanent, shared, and sustainable stockpile of tools and PPE that can be deployed in times of crisis. Our lending program is a free community resource that we are using to build resilience against wildfire smoke, respiratory illness, automotive & industrial pollution, and other airborne health threats facing Chicago residents.
 

PHAN is playing a key part in this project by working with businesses and organizations that have masks and air purifiers they can donate. We're also providing a supply-chain application called SUPPLY that will let business and organizations post clean-air supplies that can be donated and let Chicago-area mission-driven organizations claim those supplies. Chi-CARN has already received a shipment of several dozen Smart Air air purifiers that they can now loan to mission-driven organizations in the Chicago area to make their indoor spaces and events safer for everyone.

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The recording from our terrific Zoom discussion about the Canadian COVID response is now on YouTube. Our guests for this discussion: 

We discussed how our guests got involved in the cause of COVID advocacy and public health, what the early response to COVID looked like in the various provinces, and what the new proposed standard for requiring healthcare workers to mask in healthcare settings might mean for Canada, as well as hopes that other countries that will be inspired by the new standard. 

 

We'll host our next Zoom discussion on Thursday, October 8, 2026, at 9am PT/noon ET; guests will be actors Cathryn Hartt and Terri Lynne Hudson, who will talk about being COVID-safe in the acting community and what mitigations are in place both backstage and on-stage. Register in advance. 

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Despite the health risks of exposure to poor indoor air quality, there is currently no straight-forward way for anyone to know how safe the air in a given room is to breathe. The RESET Safer Air Accessibility Index (RSAAI) project aims to close that information gap with a single score combining every layer of protection in a space ̶ natural and mechanical ventilation, filtration, portable air cleaners, and air disinfection technologies ̶ showing how much safer a room is than an un-ventilated baseline. Read our recent press release.

 

The new RSAAI project is a collaboration between RESET, Safer Air Project, and PHAN, bringing together expertise in indoor air quality, lived experience, public health and building performance, and building on RESET's existing Viral Index framework for measuring airborne infection risk. 

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Safer Shared Air: Indoor Air, Health & Productivity Conference, hosted by Safer Air Project, will be held in Canberra, Australia, in-person and online on October 28 (Asia, Australia, NZ) / October 27 (Americas, Europe, and Africa). PHAN is a gold sponsor for this conference and we encourage everyone interested in clean air to attend in person or online. 

 

The full-day conference will explore indoor air quality as a silent driver of chronic disease; the economic opportunities that exist; and how we can translate the evidence into world-leading, national reform. Attend in-person or online. In-person registration closes October 20, 2026. Online registration is free (with donations requested to fund this conference and future events) and closes at the conclusion of the conference. 

Long COVID: Voices of Resilience

PHAN is co-sponsoring an important forum produced by Mask Together America in October: “Long COVID: Voices of Resilience”, a forum of Black authors who've written about their experience with Long COVID. The event takes place on October 9, 2026, at 5pm ET. Register in advance.

 

The event will be hosted by Sarah Cahill and Julie Lam, with Becky Ancira Robertson (@beckyancirar), and Victoria Coble (@coble.victoria), founder of @COVIDActionGSO,

acting as emcees. Guests will include: 

We encourage all public health and COVID-safe advocates to read the works of these authors. Until we address systemic bias and ensure equitable healthcare access, historically marginalized patients will continue to face clinical neglect and exclusion from life-changing clinical trials.

The Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative (PMC) creates a weekly COVID-19 “heatmap” based on CDC wastewater data and levels (U.S.). The PMC is led by Michael Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA.

September 14, 2026: From the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative: “The US has at least 34 states/territories with COVlD outbreaks. These include Alaska, Hawai’i, Guam, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Washington, Oregon, California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, and Maine.

“There are likely outbreaks in additional states. The summary statistic of 34 only includes counties with observed data, rather than estimated data. For example, Louisiana and Idaho likely have outbreaks, but monitoring is poor.”
 

September 2, 2026: From JAMA: A systematic review of studies of COVID vaccine effectiveness from 2025-2026 showed updated COVID-19 vaccines were associated with a reduction in the risk of hospitalization among all age groups. 

 

September 9, 2026: From CIDRAP: People who say they’ll get vaccinated against COVID and flu often don’t, citing reasons of inconvenience with finding a location and time, and other access barriers.

 

September 14, 2026: From Fortune Magazine: A new study from researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the University of Toronto conclusively found that patients with long COVID had significantly lower dopamine levels across the brain region tied to motivation, movement, and memory.  

 

September 14, 2026: From KCT5 News in Kansas City: Health officials in Jackson County, MO have confirmed that a vaccinated person has contracted measles.

 

September 14, 2026: Podcast from Air Quality Matters, hosted by Simon Jones, with Plum Stone from Safer Air Project speaking about indoor air quality as an accessibility issue. 

 

September 15, 2026: From the OECD: Rich countries face COVID-related costs for at least twenty more years. There’s also a one in two chance of another similar pandemic in the next 25 years. 

 

September 16, 2026: The Pennsylvania Department of Health on Wednesday reported 731 measles cases, up 38 from Monday's update. The fourth measles-related death has been reported in the state, but the CDC persists in omitting mention of any deaths from measles this year.
 

September 16, 2026: From the New York Times: Access to COVID vaccines is being delayed for almost half of American children, as HHS has not decided whether to provide the shots to states through the Vaccines for Children program, which serves uninsured and low-income families.

 

September 17, 2026: From CIDRAP: Air sampling at four US airports in 2023 and 2024 detected SARS-CoV-2 in over 98% of samples and influenza A in over 17%, according to a study published in PLOS Global Public Health.

 

 

September 24, 2026: Healthy Indoor Air in Schools: Every Breath Shapes Learning, a high-level side event to the United Nations General Assembly in New York City. In-person tickets have been sold out but they are making a livestream of the event available. 

 

September 29, 2026: IWBI Healthy Building Policy Summit 2026. 

 

October 7, 2026: California Clean Air Day. This is the state’s largest clean air event, organized by the Coalition for Clean Air. Every year, tens of thousands of Californians pledge to take individual actions that reduce air pollution and protect public health.

 

October 9, 2026: We are co-sponsoring a terrific event produced by Mask Together America: “Long COVID: Voices of Resilience”, a forum of Black authors who've written about their experience with Long COVID. See item above.

 

October 28/27, 2026: Safer Shared Air: Indoor Air, Health & Productivity Conference, in Canberra, Australia, and online. See item above.

 

November 5, 2026 in Austin, Texas: WELL 2026 Summit Austin from the International Well Building Institute. 

COVID-safer events in the Chicago area, courtesy of Clean Air Club's Instagram account

Every week theater journalist Charles Lewis III publishes a comprehensive list of COVID-safe events and performances in the San Francisco Bay Area on his Patreon.

 

Last Saturday of every month in the SF Bay Area: Masked Hangout. 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.

 

Monthly 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: Sept 5, Oct 3, Nov 7.

 

Streaming online trough November 28, 2026: Hystericalfest: women+ ACT out.

A series of short comedies on Women+ & Invisible Disabilities. Tickets available with a suggested donation of $10. With ASL and closed captioning options. Produced by Violet Surprise Theatre, Terri Lynne Hudson (consulting), & Hysterical Productions/Paula Kamen. This is a recording of a live performance that ran Friday, August 28, 2026.

 

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, via the Facebook group "Still Coviding - Virtual Meetups" (private group, apply for membership). Sign up for weekly emails at ninawildflower@yahoo.com.

 

COVID Safe Art Collective meets online every Sunday for pro-mask adults who want to make art together.

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 Linktree 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.

on the lighter side…

Credit: The Vertlartnic

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