The Air Kids Share- Schools, Filters, & COVID19 with Dr. Olsiewski

Back to school with Season Two of Air Health Our Health! I am joined by Dr Paula Olsiewski of the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, where she is a pioneering leader in policy and scientific research programs in the microbiology and chemistry of indoor environments. She spent two decades at the Alfred P Sloane foundation leading innovative and multidisciplinary programs partnering with academic, governmental and for-profit stakeholders understanding the chemistry of indoor environments and the microbiology of the built environment. She is recognized as a leading expert in biosecurity and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. She is chair of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Homeland Security Research Subcommittee and is a member of the EPA Board of Scientific Counselors Executive Committee, in addition to serving as a member of the NTI|bio Working Group for Biosecurity Innovation and Risk Reduction Initiative and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in chemistry.

She is also the grandmother of 4 young children, and she joins me today to talk details and specifics about how to reduce COVID 19 risk in the classroom. There are actually simple, concrete steps we can all take right now, even in districts with old buildings with poor ventilation. More importantly, the CARES Act has provided funding to ensure that no school is left behind. 

To Do:

1- Reach out to your school- Find out about the number of air changes per hour in the room. Ideally it should be 6 or more. Review the full Johns Hopkins report here.

2- Find out if your school has an HVAC system with MERV13 air filters or higher. If not, ask or demand that your school work on obtaining them or put in HEPA filters and make a plan for proper filter maintenance throughout the year.

3- Review filters on CARB here to ensure they are safe. You want mechanical filters to remove particles. Learn more about air filters and HVAC here, and how to size and place portable filters. 

4- Be a parental voice for school safety- advocate masking, vaccination, distancing, and testing. Also, remember that investing in clean indoor air in schools and robust air filtration will pay off in wildfire season, for air pollution, and more! Kids learn better in clean air. 

5- Get your COVID19 vaccine if you have not done so. Lovingly encourage those around you to do the same. This is the most important step.

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