Thread by @DrEricDing

GET HEPA FILTERS—Real-world data show that filters clean COVID-causing virus from air. An inexpensive portable #HEPA filter efficiently screened #SARSCoV2 and other disease-causing organisms from hospital air. #COVIDisAirborne #COVID19

nature.com/articles/d4158…

2) “This study suggests that HEPA air cleaners, which remain little-used in Canadian hospitals, are a cheap and easy way to reduce risk from airborne pathogens,” says @DFisman, an epidemiologist at the University of Toronto, Canada, who was not involved in the research.

3) And the scientists found that the filters don’t only protect against SARS-CoV-2. When the filters were switched off, the air contained detectable amounts of other pathogens that cause infections, such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli and Streptococcus pyogenes.

4) The filters largely removed them. These organisms are not typically thought to spread through the air, but “this study suggests that these infections may also spread by aerosol”, @DFisman says.

5) But make sure you don’t get fake HEPA filters. There’s a lot of “HEPA-like” -grade -equivalent nonsense. Don’t buy fakes!

6) Another way— make CORSI-ROSENTHAL BOXES—An army of students and faculty at the University of California-San Diego are coming together to build 250 homemade air purifiers for classrooms and labs around campus.