Senator @SenatorBaldwin continuously shows incredible leadership to ensure we're prepared for the next pandemic. Last week she called for a new Disease X Medical Countermeasures program at BARDA. Sustained funding is necessary so we are ready when the next threat emerges. “I am committed to this so we are not caught short in the future.” @SenatorBaldwin Thank you for continuing to fight for pandemic preparedness.

Masks + respirators have been important tools in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Today, we release a new report, which overviews what types of devices are available & considers what it would take to create better ones for future risks. Read: centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publi… Creating more efficient, well-fitting, and comfortable-to-wear devices will help us prepare as a country; we will have a ready supply + surge manufacturing capacity of high-quality devices when another respiratory epidemic or pandemic emerges. (2/9)

#ICYMI earlier this month, the US CDC released updated guidance for #COVID19 prevention in K-12🏫, prioritizing a return to in-person learning this fall. Overall, the CDC recommends school districts tailor their recommendations to local laws and epidemiological situations. (1/5) In the spring, our team released a report, School Ventilation: A Vital Tool to Reduce COVID-19 Spread, which notes portable air filters are important tools to help K-12 students and staff return safely to school. (2/5)

Our new report, School Ventilation: A Vital Tool to Reduce COVID-19 Spread, recommends 6 priorities for how school administrators and decisionmakers could use flexible funds available under the Biden Administration’s American Rescue Plan to improve healthy air in schools (1/5) The report recommends below priorities (2/5):

A: Bring in as much outdoor air as the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system will safely allow and upgrade filtration.

B: Purchase HEPA air filtration units to be placed in classrooms and common occupied spaces.

Many K-12 🏫 in our country do not have good ventilation. Today, we launch a new report, School Ventilation: A Vital Tool to Reduce #COVID19 Spread, highlighting ways to ensure good indoor air quality: centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publi… (1/4) The benefits of investing in healthy air in schools have the potential to outlast the COVID-19 pandemic. And with the flexible funds now available under the American Rescue Plan, we have the opportunity to invest in improving K-12 schools’ air quality. (2/4)

Today we released a new special feature in the journal #HealthSecurity as part of @WHO joint call for articles on infodemics with 5 leading peer-reviewed journals in all related to the components of infodemics during PH emergencies - liebertpub.com/toc/hs/19/1 “infodemic” is used to denote a rapid, large-scale spread of health info & misinformation through a variety of media and informational channels. This overabundance of information—some accurate and some not—makes it difficult for people to differentiate between false & true info.

Today we release a new report, Staying Ahead of the Variants: Policy Recommendations to Identify and Manage Current and Future Variants of Concern. Read it here: centerforhealthsecurity.org/our-work/publi… (1/5) The US currently faces 3 major SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern, which could make coronavirus spread more easily or make our current therapeutics + vaccines less effective. As the pandemic unfolds, more variants will emerge. We can – and must – respond. (2/5)