Thread by @Orla_Hegarty

“Sick of your kids being sick? Clean air in schools may be the answer”

Co-written with @j_corey02 in @irishexaminer today

🧵of links to research mentioned & more information for parents & teachers #Schools #EdChat #EdChatIE 1/

https://twitter.com/irishexaminer/status/1710396652727795992

(from 2021): “growing body of research on COVID-19 provides abundant evidence for the predominance of airborne transmission. This route dominates under certain environmental conditions, particularly indoor environments that are poorly ventilated” 2/ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

“These viruses can be spread by an infected person simply by breathing. And like cigarette smoke, these viruses can linger in the air for hours in poorly ventilated spaces”

(from 2021, Prof @kprather88 ) 3/

@kprather88 “transmission can occur before an infected person begins showing symptoms”

“59% of transmission is from pre-symptomatic & asymptomatic people” - @DrTonyFauciMD 4/

“Poor ventilation can lead to a build-up of CO2 indoors; if CO2 levels are high >1,000ppm, there may also be a high concentration of airborne viruses” /5

“classrooms with higher CO2 levels >1000ppm had more than 60% higher risk of outbreaks” from 1hr10 youtube.com/live/Czqc02wbY…

“High CO2 levels can negatively impact concentration; Harvard study showed high CO2 levels reduced cognitive function by 50+%” /6

“wide-ranging implications because this study reflects conditions commonly encountered every day in indoor environments” ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…

“We drink 2-3 litres of water/day. We breathe 11,000 litres of air/day. We filter water to remove pathogens. Why don’t we filter our air, given this is main way airborne pathogens get into our body?” @kprather88 /7 (from 2021)

“at WHO Europe indoor air conference, @CathNoakes, professor of environmental engineering in Leeds, shared results of a randomised controlled trial in England — classrooms with air filters had 20% fewer school absences than those without” /8

(from 2hr51) youtube.com/live/Czqc02wbY…

@CathNoakes “In May, the Health & Safety Authority (🇮🇪) published a new code of practice for indoor air quality. Under this guidance, which has been signed into law, all classrooms & workplaces should consistently have CO2 levels under 1,000ppm” @TheHSA /9

hsa.ie/eng/topics/ven…

@TheHSA “According to the HSA, if CO2 levels cannot be kept under 1,000ppm through natural or mechanical ventilation, air filters should be used to remove harmful contaminants” /10

@TheHSA “Despite €62m in funding being promised in December 2021 to improve air quality in classrooms only 42 schools have applied for funding… none of which was for air filters” (Aug 2023 update ) /11irishexaminer.com/news/arid-4076…
oireachtas.ie/en/debates/que…

@TheHSA “Megan Jehn shared how students in Arizona built DIY air filters called ‘Corsi-Rosenthal boxes’ for the school as part of a Stem project — complete with a decorating competition between classrooms” HT @CorsIAQ @JimRosenthal4 @CRBoxFoundation @JehnML /12

https://twitter.com/jehnml/status/1624107798924775425

“With up to 70% of household transmission beginning with children, fewer infections in schools would also result in fewer infections in the community” /13 jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…

“Clean air is affordable & achievable for every school. Parents should be asking their schools if all classrooms meet the HSA guidance. Clean air should not be a luxury reserved for the wealthy & the politicians in the Dáil.
Do our kids not deserve it?” /end

PS #1 What to do? (from 2021)

https://twitter.com/orla_hegarty/status/1471558804844261376

PS #2 What’s the cost?

https://twitter.com/orla_hegarty/status/1704550579689656400

PS #3 another resource

Victoria, Australia bought 50,000 air filters for classrooms ..& wrote this clean air policy & guidelines theage.com.au/politics/victo…

https://twitter.com/orla_hegarty/status/1708088906980168090