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We're committed to sharing verified information, airborne-aware news, and community events, plus developing technology and tools like CARE and SUPPLY, and bringing vital protection supplies to people who need them. If you want to help us continue our work, please donate! We really appreciate your support. |
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Newsletter for October 30, 2026 |
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Happy Halloween from everyone at PHAN! |
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Greetings, public health PHANs! We hope you've had a healthy and safe October and are looking forward to Halloween and a pleasant November. This is a combined weekly and monthly newsletter for this month. October has been Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month! We spend approximately 90% of our time indoors, yet the quality of the air we breathe inside our homes, schools, workplaces, and shared spaces often receives far less attention than outdoor air pollution. Indoor air can contain fine particulate matter (PM2.5), allergens, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and airborne pathogens, all of which can affect our health. The good news? Cleaner indoor air is achievable. Through improved ventilation, effective filtration, source control, and evidence-based air-cleaning technologies, we can reduce exposure to harmful pollutants and infectious aerosols. But clean indoor air shouldn’t and cannot be an individual responsibility. It requires collective action, informed policies, and investments in healthier buildings. News and highlights from the past month: - we published our sixth podcast episode with Dr. Lindsay Briggs of Chico State University, hosted a Zoom community discussion on October 8 with guests Cathryn Hartt and Terri Lynne Hudson, and have several Zoom discussions lined up for the next few months
- PHAN is ramping up our participation in the open-source software community by participating in FOSDEM in Brussels in January
- the Chicago Clean Air Resilience Network project (Chi-CARN) has over a dozen air purifiers that have been lent out to over twenty organizations and events, and they recently received a donation of three Far UVC devices, which also be available for borrowing
- Safer Air Project kicked off their “Making the Invisible Visible” campaign this month and recently hosted the “Safer Shared Air” conference in Canberra, Australia
- Dr. Michael Hoerger's Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative project, which has been producing weekly COVID wastewater surveillance maps of the U.S., has added weekly RSV and influenza wastewater surveillance maps of the U.S.
- COVID-19 levels continue to increase in several areas across the U.S., with significant upward revisions made for several states during October
- Pennsylvania has now had five deaths from measles this year, their first deaths in the past 35 years, which the CDC declines to post on their website.
- other events coming up in October and November
- news items about COVID, other airborne pathogens, and clean air
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! |
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PHANcasts! Recent and Upcoming Podcasts and Zoom Discussions |
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Podcast with Dr. Lindsay Briggs, professor of public health at California State University, Chico, CA |
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In October we released our sixth podcast episode, with guest Lindsay Briggs, PhD, a tenured faculty member in the Department of Public Health (PBHL) at California State University, Chico. Her dissertation research focused on the social response to HIV/AIDS, and she discussed several similarities that she's seeing between her research work and the current pandemic. We were thrilled to be able to speak with her. Listen to or watch the recording now available on YouTube and Spotify. On October 8, we welcomed actors Cathryn Hartt and Terri Lynne Hudson for our Zoom discussion about being clean-air-aware while acting and how the acting community has dealt with the pandemic. We talked about how COVID has impacted their work in the movie, TV, and theater industries, what kinds of mitigation or lack of mitigations our guests have experienced, and how they're advocating in their own lives to keep themselves and their communities safe. The recording for that Zoom discussion is now on available on YouTube. Upcoming Zoom discussions: - November 12: we'll delve into the topic of indoor air quality (IAQ) and preventing illness with kids in schools, with guests speakers Mary Jo Nabuurs, an advocate for clean air in schools in Ontario, Canada, and Ruth Brooker, founder of Clean Air for Kids UK. Register in advance.
- November 19: we'll have a thoughtful discussion about death and Long COVID with Miles Griffis, co-founder of The Sick Times. Register in advance.
- November 26, Thanksgiving Day in the U.S.: we'll host a Thanksgiving Hangout with PHAN, a casual Zoom chat for anyone who wants to spend time with COVID-aware folks. Bring your songs, poetry, stories, jokes, artwork, or anything else you want to share. We'll have some fun games and songs to share as well. Register in advance.
- December 13: we'll host a discussion with guests Amy Stewart and Dr. Michael Hoerger about being COVID-safe around families and holiday gatherings. Register in advance.
- December 25, Christmas Day: we'll host another hangout with PHAN for anyone who wants to spend time with COVID-aware folks, bring your songs and art to share. Register in advance.
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PHAN to participate in FOSDEM Open Source Healthcare Devroom |
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We're excited to share that PHAN will be at FOSDEM (Free and Open Source Software Developers’ European Meeting) in Brussels, January 30-31, 2027. We're joining a cohort of organizations leading the first-ever developer room for Open Source Healthcare, a dedicated track for people building open tools that improve care. Developer rooms are assigned to self-organizing groups to work together on open source and free software projects, and to discuss topics relevant to a broader subset of the community. The Open Source Healthcare devroom has issued a call for participation, and they're looking for talks on anything where open source meets health: interoperability and data standards; open medical hardware, software, and biosensors; safety governance and QA; open research; open vaccines and pharmacology; and the policy and regulatory side of getting tools to patients. Formats should be 10-minute project introductions or 25-minute talks. The deadline is Friday, November 20, 2026 at 23:55 UTC. Submit your talk proposal at fosdem.org/submit (choose the "Open Source Healthcare" track). The talks are in person in Brussels, and FOSDEM cannot offer travel funding, so please only submit if you're able to attend. Many thanks to Addie Cobb, leader of the Open Source Program Office at Varro Life Sciences, for her dedication and effort in getting this devroom set up, and for representing PHAN at this event. You can learn more about FOSDEM on their website. We hope to see you there! |
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Safer Air Project's Safer Shared Air Conference and Making the Invisible Visible Campaign |
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Earlier this week, the Safer Air Project hosted the Safer Shared Air: Indoor Air, Health & Productivity Conference, in Canberra, Australia. The full-day conference included over a dozen public health and policy experts, as well as representatives from the Australian government, who spoke on 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. They'll make the recording available for all registrants shortly. The Safer Air Project also launched their “Making the Invisible Visible” campaign, to encourage business and organizations around the world to do two simple things: 1) measure the indoor air quality in the spaces they manage or occupy, and 2) make that data available on site or online. We spend around 90% of our lives indoors, yet the air we share in workplaces, schools, healthcare settings, and other public buildings is rarely monitored or understood. Health risks disproportionately affect people living with chronic health conditions, compromised immune systems, or disability. We encourage all PHAN supporters to get and use a portable air quality monitor and bring it with you into the indoor spaces you visit. Air quality reviewer Ethan Brooke at BreatheSafeAir posted this in-depth comparison of ten air quality monitors. PHAN is proud to have been a gold-level sponsor for this conference and we encourage everyone who is interested in clean air to attend in person or online. We believe that working to put standards in place is an effective way to make clean air more accessible to everyone. |
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Update on Chicago Clean Air Resilience Network |
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The Chicago Clean Air Resilience Network is a coordinated, multi-partner initiative consisting of PHAN, Air Support Project, SOS, and Windy City Toolbank. In the past month, this project has lent out nearly a dozen air purifiers donated by Smart Air Filters and Smarter Hepa, and has acquired several Far UVC units to lend out, thanks to a generous donation from Far UV Technologies. These devices use a form of germicidal ultraviolet light, typically operating at 222 nm, that can inactivate airborne pathogens. When properly designed and operated within established exposure limits, these devices can be used in occupied spaces. We estimate that this project has helped deliver cleaner indoor air to over a thousand people and we're planning to greatly increase that number in the coming months. |
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Blog posts: The Kids are (Not) Okay, and 20,000 Questions |
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A real tornado wreaking havoc on the Kansas plains, not unlike what COVID has done to Amanda and many others |
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PHAN contributor Amanda Finley wrote about an archaeological site of a five-thousand-year old cemetery where DNA analysis showed that nearly half of the people died from Yersenia pestis (plague), and that tragically a large number of those were children. Amanda reflects on what we're teaching our kids about how they should avoid harmful pathogens, and her conclusion is that we're teaching kids that they don't matter and we need to change that. Read her blog post on our website. Amanda Finley has been dealing with Long COVID since 2020 and has had to learn how to live differently. In this blog post titled “20,000 Questions”, she explores what it's like to have to leave your old life behind and face a new challenging reality, one where there aren't always answers to all the questions about the illness that's depleted all your energy and continues to create new symptoms. If you have suggestions for blog post topics or contributors, please send them our way at info@phan.global. |
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What is SUPPLY? An Explainer |
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Screenshot from the SUPPLY website |
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PHAN has developed a unique software tool called SUPPLY, which is designed to make coordination of procurement and shipment of clean-air protection supplies such as masks, air purifiers, and tests easier, as well as more transparent and seamless. Originally we developed SUPPLY because we were developing connections in several regions and we wanted to get supplies in those regions into more people's hands. When the Chicago Clean Air Resilience Network project was started earlier this year, we realized SUPPLY would be very useful in helping procure and distribute protection materials in the Chicago area. We are currently working on integrating SUPPLY with the Windy City Toolbank's existing workflow and are excited about the possibilities for using SUPPLY with other toolbanks and distribution organizations. You can learn more about SUPPLY on our website. |
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December 3: Webinar on Airborne Aerosols Hosted by Mask Together America |
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On December 3, Mask Together America will host a webinar on airborne aerosols with special guests Dr. Allen Haddrell, Research Fellow, University of Bristol; Jill Heins-Nesvold, MS, MBA, National Director of Lung Health, American Lung Association; Dr. Michael Hoerger, PhD, MSCR, MBA, Professor, Tulane University; Mish, Mask Fit Testing Expert, Mask Together Colorado (presented by Professor Maria Gillespie) ; and Georgia Lagoudas, PhD, Senior Fellow, Pandemic Center, Brown University, co-founder of Air Club, who will provide closing remarks. We encourage all PHAN supporters to attend this webinar and to learn more about airborne pathogens and aerosol science with Mask Together America's explainer. |
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October 26, 2026: From the Pandemic Mitigation Collaborative: “The US has at least 44 states and territories with COVlD outbreaks, a figure identical to last week. The CDC continues to make large, upward retroactive corrections, and we are in a secondary wave peak." Top news stories from the past month: October 1, 2026: From The BMJ: One in eight cancer cases worldwide caused by viral infections like Epstein-Barr, a new study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) finds October 2, 2026: From CIDRAP: Measles outbreaks could leave thousands of people more vulnerable to infectious diseases for up to five years due to measles-induced immune amnesia October 5, 2026: From the New York Governor's Office: New York governor Kathy Hochul declared a state of emergency in New York for the measles outbreak October 7, 2026: From Forbes magazine: Measles outbreaks may be fueling outbreaks of mumps and other diseases, as measles can cause them to lose 11% to 73% of previously acquired antibodies October 9, 2026: From The Sick Times: Commentary: How I built a COVID-safer school that’s become the heart of a more caring community October 17, 2026: From the Survivor Literacy blog: The long tail of the COVID pandemic is being felt in far more areas of our society than is commonly acknowledged October 19, 2026: From the producers of "What Doesn’t Kill You", a documentary about ME/CFS and long COVID, are looking for people willing to contribute their experiences October 20, 2026: From entrepreneur and mask advocate Zhou Liang: his company is developing a new modular-type mask October 20, 2026: From the Pennsylvania Department of Health: A new health alert warns doctors about congenital measles, a disease that was once extremely rare in the United States October 22, 2026: From Science Direct: A simplified method for evaluating fine particulate matter removal performance of portable air cleaners October 25, 2026: From People Magazine: Nearly one million chickens had to be slaughtered due to bird flu at the second largest egg producer in the U.S. |
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All PHAN events are listed on our Events page and can be added automatically to your calendar app of choice. NOVEMBER 2026 DECEMBER |
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From Mask Bloc Toronto: Monster Mask, a Halloween mask-required event in Toronto |
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COVID-safer events in the Chicago area: - the Clean Air Club of Chicago posts items to their Instagram page every week about COVID-safer events in Chicago and the surrounding area, with all of these shows having at least one large air purifier or Far UVC device
- Save the Night posts lists of mask-required events in the Chicago area to their Instagram page
COVID-safe events in the San Francisco Bay Area: 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. San Francisco Transgender Film Fest, November 12-14. Attendance will be both online and in-person, with the latter audiences required to be masked with KN95 (masks provided by staff). 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 show on November 7. If you know of events local to you, please email us at info@phan.global or message us on any social media platform, as we would love to expand this section of our newsletter. |
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NEW: November 12, 2026: Join The Sick Times, Sabr Tooth Tiger Magazine, and Undercurrent for a night of live poetry, nonfiction, and fiction readings from writers with Long COVID, ME, and other disabilities. Register in advance. 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. If you know of other online performances, please email us at info@phan.global or message us on any social media platform, as we would love to expand this section of our newsletter. |
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COVID Safe Art Collective meets online every Sunday for pro-mask adults who want to make art together. |
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Daily: World Health Network community 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 “Kids' Connect Zone” meetings 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. Every Saturday: COVID Creative Coalition Sessions hosted by Celebrate 845 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. Every Sunday: The Little Zoom Writers Room 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 Sunday: COVID-Safe Art Collective Creative & Social Hour 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. Second Friday of every month: Making Masked Theater - Techniques for Creating Performance in a Respirator. 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. |
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If you want to support our work, please donate! Your donations will go towards the projects we're developing and to pay a small team of staffers making it all happen. If you're interested in volunteering, we'd love to have you! We're looking for those interested in: - creating videos and graphics
- writing blog posts
- working with machine learning and large-language models (LLMs)
- keeping updated on public health policy
- coordinating volunteers
If you match any of those needs, or you have other skills or experience that you think might help our work, we'll find a way for you to help! Fill out our contact form on our website and one of us will get back to you as soon as we can. You can support us by liking, sharing, and commenting on our social media posts on Bluesky, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and Facebook. It really helps our visibility when you engage with our posts and follow our accounts. Thank you for liking and sharing our posts! |
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Thank you for being a public health advocate, from the entire PHAN team |
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8 The Green #11010
Dover, DE 19901, United States |
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