Thread by @DrEricDing

VENTILATION IS CRITICAL—The CDC should be doing more to guide and encourage improved air circulation in schools to help prevent the spread of #COVID19. CDC has not paid anywhere near enough attention to the role ventilation, and air disinfection. 🧵

cnn.com/2021/02/25/hea…

2) “Schools will need to spend time and money improving airflow using HVAC systems, stand-alone HEPA air filtering systems or even just by opening windows if students, teachers and staff are to return safely to in-school learning in the fall, the experts say.”

3) “The state of ventilation in schools in the United States right now is woefully inadequate," Richard Corsi, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Portland State University, told a forum hosted by JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health this week.

4) “"Right now, schools are looking to CDC and they are not getting the answers to the kinds of things we are talking about," Corsi added. "All of them look to CDC." Corsi said he has advised schools they need to improve ventilation

5) “The CDC does suggest that schools think about ventilation improvements.
"Consider ventilation system upgrades or improvements and other steps to increase the delivery of clean air and dilute potential contaminants in the school. cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

6) “But that's not enough, the experts agreed.

Why ventilation matters

With poor ventilation, viral particles can build up in the air in a classroom, cafeteria or hallway.

7) “"If you look at all the high profile outbreaks -- same underlying factors -- no masks, low ventilation. It doesn't matter if it's spin class, ice hockey, camps, classrooms, choir practice or restaurants, (it's) the same underlying factors," says Joseph Allen @j_g_allen

8) “The pandemic has revealed the role that our buildings, including schools, can play in infectious disease transmission," William Bahnfleth, a professor of architectural engineering at the Pennsylvania State University, told the forum.

9) “It's a simple enough concept. People cough, sneeze or simply breathe out particles constantly. If a person is infected with a virus, viral particles can be carried out on droplets that can become suspended in the air...

10) “In a closed room, those particles will build up and others will breathe them in.
The solution can also be simple -- air exchange. Swap the particle-laden air for fresh, clean air, and the risk of transmission falls.”

11) “The problem comes when sealed buildings also have poor ventilation systems, and the problem is worse in colder months, when any windows or doors there might be are firmly closed against the chill.

12) “portable HEPA system with a clean air delivery rate of 300 cubic feet a minute in a typical classroom gives you the equivalent of three to four air changes per hour. That, in many classrooms, is up to a 50%, 60%, 70% reduction in inhalation doses," Corsi added.

13) “But principals, school boards & teachers often know little about this.
"There is not a lot of awareness about indoor air," said Claire Barnett, of the Healthy Schools Network—problem has worsened since EPA stopped funding its indoor air program for schools 10 years ago.

14) Neither CDC or the Department of Education has expertise on indoor air in schools now, she said.
And it's a problem that, like so many others, affects poorer communities more.

15) "It's been well documented for decades that the poorest communities often have the poorest school facilities. That means no clean air, no ventilation, nonworking plumbing, difficulties with sanitation leaks and molds," Barnett said.

16) "About half of districts needed to update or replace multiple systems like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) or plumbing," the report reads. "An estimated one-third of schools needed HVAC system updates."

17) “It costs money upfront, but it's worth it, Bahnfleth said. "Yes, there may be significant costs involved in some cases, but not as high as some might think, and the cost of not making that investment is much higher," he said.

18) “So who should pay?
"There's a need for investment, if only in filtering air cleaning systems for classrooms. This should be provided by the federal government," Dr. Donald Milton, a professor of environmental health at the University of Maryland

19) There's money for schools in President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion rescue plan, but none is earmarked for school ventilation systems!

➡️I’ve complained about this. Schools want “flexibility” to spend it on whatever they want. 🤦🏻‍♂️ I’m trying to advocate and fix this.

20) I’ve been reporting about what the chatter is on Capitol Hill. this is the current situation. But I’m gonna try to push for ventilation prioritizing.

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1364730791956275202

21) We need to and we can achieve 5 air exchanges per hour. That needs to be our target.

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1364732315797192709

22) And CDC does endorse HEPA filters and Upper room UV for reducing #COVID19 risk! They just don’t say precisely how much. cdc.gov/coronavirus/20…

23) I’m told schools want to use the $130 billion (~$1 mil for 130k schools) to backfill budget deficits. But THATS NOT GONNA SOLVE the pandemic and make schools safer for kids to return.

Airborne transmission is real—we need air cleaning & ventilation⬇️

24) getting good air is not hard. We can do it with ventilation and air cleaning. Here is my thread on how to get there.

https://twitter.com/drericding/status/1362880620343484416

25) GREAT NEWS — UPDATE — CDC just released new indoor air guidance overnight! Don’t ask me why they put it out on a Friday late evening... but it’s out... though there are caveats where they weren’t explicit enough on ACH target. See 🧵 ... please read below.

https://twitter.com/DrEricDing/status/1365678603212648461