ππ½π¦ Nasal sprays are an under-used but highly effective layer to include in your covid-safety strategy! ππΏ Here's a thread on 4 really effective ones:
No. 1: Carrageenan Nasal Spray - with an 80% relative risk reduction, this nasal spray is one of the best I've found.
No. 2: Hypromellose Spray - this one is a close second at 78% relative risk reduction. Also pretty affordable!
No. 3: Nitric Oxide Nasal Spray (NONS) - this one is widely-used with a 75% relative risk reduction. With the higher price, though, you're probably better off with Carrageenan or Hypromellose sprays!
No. 4: Xylitol - this spray is the most affordable, but it has a lower risk reduction than the others at 62%. Still *way* better than nothing though!
How to use: each spray has slightly different instructions. In general, though, you spray before and after a potential covid exposure in order to reduce the chances of infection. You can also use it repeatedly throughout the day(s) after a potential exposure.
Some things to consider: take a look at the ingredients lists, studies, and safety profiles to make a decision for yourself about whether to incorporate this into a multi-layered covid strategy. These sprays are not just saline solution!
Some of these sprays are manufactured in Israel. There is conflicting information online, and apparent disagreement within the movement itself, regarding whether purchasing medical goods produced in Israel (and nowhere else) is in violation of the BDS boycott.
You don't realize how resistant schools are to air quality improvements until you try to offer them FREE air purifiers and they almost always turn you down, even when presented with data π€―
Is now a good time to mention that last month over 25 Los Angeles schools rejected our offers of completely free air purifiers for every single classroom on their campuses?
There's a widespread hostility to anyone offering solutions at the intersection of climate change, pandemics, and resource depletion. It was wild to get replies along the lines of "don't contact us ever again" when we were literally offering tens of thousands in free gear
When you try to solve a problem that most people are in denial about, you're going to encounter hostility and gaslighting instead of enthusiasm and solidarity
We need to be ready for even further criminalization of mask wearing in the wake of the NYC assassination. The mayor is already ramping up his usual anti-mask rhetoric, associating masking with "criminality" and deference to the surveillance state as patriotism.
Look out for any rhetoric suggesting "law-abiding people have nothing to hide" or that public safety depends on further criminalization of masks.
Privacy, community care, and self-defense during an ongoing pandemic are intertwined, and their threats will be, too.
They reference the CDC's latest guidance of 5 air changes per hour as the minimum standard for clean indoor air, signaling a convergence across federal agencies.
They also reference our preferred standard, ASHRAE 241, which is MUCH safer and could actually stop the pandemic.
Our founder presented this same information to the U.S. Access Board earlier this year:
Adopting ASHRAE 241 in *all* public indoor spaces is the best shot we have at ending the pandemic. It's a matter of accessibility, public health, and justice.
βοΈ 50+ ways to show up for people with Long Covid & ME/CFS βοΈ
Over 400 million people around the world have Long Covid, and millions more have ME/CFS. Here are concrete ways you can show up for them so that nobody gets left behind! π§΅
Before you offer help, consider these four points:
1. Drop off groceries 2. Send a meal delivery gift card 3. Bring home-cooked meals 4. Chop ingredients for the week 5. Take their kids out 6. Do an at-home activity with their kids 7. Pick their kids up from school 8. Do their dishes 9. Do their laundry 10. Clean their house