AphroChic Magazine: Issue No. 11

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Wellness is high, they would be more careful. We should demand clear and responsible communications from the federal, state, and local governments. AC: As we continue to see higher rates of travel and indoor gathering, what can/should we do to keep ourselves protected? PCDC: At the individual level, it’s all about layers — testing, wearing high-filtration masks in indoor spaces (verified N95, KF94, or KN95 grade masks), avoiding large crowds, using good ventilation, employing air filtration, getting the booster (and a flu shot!), seeing people outdoors, and avoiding exposures before gatherings. However, at the systems level, there’s so much more that could be done. Our governments should send out monthly free tests to all US residents and N95 masks (KF94 for children). They should fund fast and accessible PCR clinics throughout the country, because PCR tests are the gold standard, meaning they have far less false negatives than rapid tests. Make reporting test results easy and have data be well-organized and accessible to the public. Set up more wastewater testing. Communicate clearly and frequently about the risks of the virus, especially Long COVID, to the public. Get vaccines to seniors and into communities. Everyone should have paid sick leave. All buildings and public spaces should have ventilation standards and air filtration, especially in high-traffic areas. AC: What are the specific policies that you feel need to be enacted at the state and federal level, and what are the specific steps we all can take to put pressure on policymakers to address our needs? PCDC: We have a duty to protect our most vulnerable neighbors and each other. This means that we have to make public spaces safe for people who are immunocompromised, disabled (including those with Long COVID), elderly, and more. We know that the pandemic has disproportionately affected poor people, Black, Latine, Indigenous, and people of color due to economic factors and structural racism. With increasing evidence that COVID impacts our immune systems for at least eight months — contributing to the rise in severe RSV and flu and overflowing pediatric hospitals — this means we have to do everything we can at all levels to reduce COVID transmission. COVID is not the flu — it is a multisystemic virus, the long-term effects of which are unpredictable, regardless of one’s age, health, or any other factors. To this end, we need to mobilize at all levels, both at the grassroots, at the levels of our families and households, and at the level of our government. Lots of people who continue to care about COVID and understand its risks have been feeling hopeless lately. But there is so much hope and efficacy in coming together to organize in real-life spaces. We don’t mean going into unsafe public unmasked spaces. We mean following the example of organizations like Mask Mandate New York, which has mobilized hundreds of New Yorkers around mask mandates in public transport, by asking them to call, email, and virtually testify at City Council and Transportation hearings. They succeeded in getting rid of NY’s terrible “You Do You” campaign and in having the MTA [NYC’s transit system] return signs recommending masking. And they’re still continuing their advocacy, with guides like the NYC Mask Guide, conveying valuable information about which public venues still enforce masking protocols. If you are a union member, find another person in your union and follow the example of Academic Workers at the University of California who gathered 500 signatures on an open letter and drafted an article around public health and safety (with demands for masking, PCR test access, etc.). Through the course of their strike, they have succeeded in increasing mask use on the picket line, and bringing back masks to organizing spaces. And they’re still going! Individuals can call and write to their policymakers across all levels of government asking for a return of mask mandates in indoor settings, including schools, and access to testing and masks. Individuals can ask their members of Congress to support continued funding for COVID health measures and ask that they do NOT let the public health emergency expire. In the coming year, we are advocating for a return to mask mandates in all indoor public settings, especially medical facilities and public transportation. All levels of government should provide access to free rapid at-home and PCR testing, and the federal government should mail out more than four tests along with high-quality masks. Policymakers should support unionized workers and start requiring or expand paid sick leave policies. AC: How can we connect with you and get involved today? PCDC: This work is difficult and tiring as an individual. You must find other like-minded people, who either live in the same community, or work in the same workplace. Advocate together around specific demands; providing moral support to one another in the process is essential. Specific steps can include writing to and speaking with your local, state, and federal political leaders, recruiting and educating business interest groups to support these policies, and enlisting the support of local community organizations. Make small wins, however tiny, and publicize them widely! You are not alone — we are not alone — in wanting a just and healthy response to the COVID-19 crisis — and together we can and will create that response. Join or create local organizations to advocate for COVID safety, or join us by filling in our volunteer form and one of us will contact you shortly. 92 aphrochic
COVID-19 Resources Baltimore Speaks This short film by <strong>AphroChic</strong> explores the impact of the virus on the Black community and the role that medical mistrust, created through a long history of mistreatment of Black people, played in creating hesitancy around the vaccine, as well as the heroic efforts of community members, medical institutions and the city’s health department to reach vaccination goals. Visit the website to watch the documentary short, spotlights of community members and view panel discussions from the <strong>AphroChic</strong> 2022 COVID-19 Summit. BaltimoreSpeaks.com The People’s CDC Safer In-Person Gatherings Guide The Safer In-person Gatherings Toolkit was developed by a coalition of public health experts and grassroots organizations to help educators, parents, and communities advocate for safer, equitable schools, and separate fact from fiction about COVID-19 protections. The toolkit is regularly updated as new science and information is available. SeeYouSafer.org Network for Long COVID Justice Network-builders, communicators and mobilizers who help link patient-led support groups and information sharing, groundbreaking research, grassroots community organizing and mobilization, communications, and policy analysis and advocacy for local, state, federal and international policies on the COVID-19/Long COVID pandemic. longcovidjustice.org issue eleven 93
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AphroChic Magazine: Issue No. 11

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