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February 13th Webinar Recording

Brace for C19 Wave 2024 with MaskTogetherAmerica

Watch the February 13th, Q&A Recording of our Brace for C19 Wave 2024 Virtual Event! Hosted by MaskTogetherAmerica coordinators Christina Auriana and Sarah Cahill, our February webinar featured four experts who care about us. These experts shared their advice to help us navigate the ongoing pandemic and help our communities do the same, covering topics like:

• How to manage the risk of COVID infection in seeking health care? Kevin Kavanagh, MD, MS, Board Chairman of Heath Watch USA(sm).

• How detrimental can Long COVID become? Dr. Marjorie Roberts (PhD in Business, Long COVID Advocate, NIH RECOVER representative).

• Let’s clear the air on COVID Aaron Collins (“Mask Nerd” and mechanical engineer with a background in aerosol science).

• How to build safer communities using science-based protection? Dr. Kaitlin Sundling (physician, scientist, and cytopathologist).

Watch the full video on YouTube to hear their insights and help spread the word to raise awareness and keep each other safe!

Mitigation is about love + survival + community.

Watch the Video

Long COVID March on March 15, 2024 in Washington, DC

Please join us at the Long COVID March

Millions of Americans are suffering from debilitating symptoms and conditions after being infected with COVID. Some people get it over and over again and each infection worsens their health.

MTA founder Julie Lam and MTA advisors (Dr. Angelique Corthals, Dr. Robi Tamargo, Dr. Marjorie Roberts, and Dr. Linda Green) will be there to speak up and walk in solidarity to show support for the marginalized community in this pandemic. Millions of Long Haulers in the US need our love and community support. We’d love to see you there, too!

Change won’t happen unless we band together to ask for it. We’re now in the 5th year of the pandemic. Instead of normalizing mitigation, our government is normalizing COVID. Americans are getting COVID every day. People are dying from it every day, despite the abundance of mitigation tools. Only people who are suffering from Long COVID as a patient or caretaker or family member understand the devastation of being unable to navigate the broken health system for often-unaffordable treatment or care, or for a cure that doesn’t exist.

Meanwhile, COVID is preventable and our country has the resources to prevent transmission, but people from the top down choose to ignore this escalating crisis.

We won’t give up! We might be a small group but we will use our voice! If you’re in the area, please join us on March 15th and make your voice heard.

P.S. Masking is required at this march! For more information, go to LCDCMarch15.com.

More Information

Brace for C19 Wave 2024 with MaskTogetherAmerica on January 24

What’s going on with the 2024 winter wave and what can we do to stay safe?

Watch the Jan 24th, Q&A Recording of our Brace for C19 Wave 2024 Virtual Event. Our experts shared their advice to help us navigate the ongoing pandemic and help our friends, families, and communities do the same. Hosted by MaskTogetherAmerica coordinators Lindsay Schwarz and Sarah Cahill, our experts tackled an array of topics:

• How to measure COVID-19 risk —Dr. Michael Hoerger (Assoc. Professor of Psychology, Psychiatry, & Oncology, and Director of the Health Psychology doctoral program at Tulane University)

• The relationship between COVID and POTS —Rachel Hellman (PMHNP DNP student and Founder & President of Awareness for POTSies).

• Why the U.S. COVID response is failing us and what we can do about it —Dr. Angelique Corthals (Assoc. Professor at John Jay College, and Consultant for Doctors Without Borders).

• Making the most of clean air —Aaron Collins (“Mask Nerd” and mechanical engineer with a background in aerosol science).

Watch the full video on YouTube. Share to raise awareness. Mitigation is about love + survival + community.

Contact Awareness for POTSies.

Watch the Video    Contact Awareness for POTSies

Q&A with Biomedical Scientist Dr. Angelique Corthals?

Another Wave? Can Annual Vaccines alone stop it?

Watch Sep 21st Webinar Recording of Q&A with Dr. Angelique Corthals, Associate Professor, Pathology, Biomedicine & Epidemiology, Biological/Forensic Anthropology, City University of New York, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, to learn about the layered approach and tools we desperately need to prevent sickness and transmission of COVID-19 on YouTube.

Mitigation is about health equity. Let’s urge the CDC to promote all the mitigation tools to stop transmission and support research and development for better tools. Please sign and share our petition.

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Q&A with Dr. Robi Tamargo, PsyD

What happens when covid damages your brain and the nervous system

Dr. Robi Tamargo, PsyD refers to her personal experience contracting Guillain-Barré Syndrome as an example to confirm that Neuropathy is one of many Long Covid symptoms, as listed on the CDC’s webpage for Healthcare Providers.

In her Sep 14th Q&A webinar, Dr. Tamargo also talked about a long list of disabling Long Covid symptoms including POTS (Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome). Watch the full recording on YouTube.

Use all the tools to prevent Long Covid

Masks, Air Purifiers, PCR Tests, Paid Sick Leave, Remote Working and Education about Long Covid are ALL effective mitigation tools. Unfortunately, the CDC’s public awareness campaign mainly focuses on pharmaceutical interventions. Please sign our Petition to demand CDC embrace the layered approach. Add your name to support our action.

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A Petition to Demand CDC use ALL the tools to beat SARS-CoV-2

We don’t accept constant infection

“We have more tools than ever to protect against serious COVID-19 disease and death, but we must make sure everyone has equitable access to those tools,” said Director Mandy Cohen, M.D., M.P.H., regarding the Bridge Access Program to safeguard Free C19 Vaccination for Uninsured and Underinsured Adults.

Dr. Cohen’s recent statement reflects our government’s sole focus on pharmaceutical interventions in mitigation, instead of embracing the layered approach.

In reality, we have abandoned “more tools than ever.” Masks, Air Purifiers, PCR Tests, Paid Sick Leave, Remote Working and Education about Long Covid are ALL effective mitigation tools. Unfortunately, the CDC’s public awareness campaign only focuses on vaccination.

As Dr. Cohen said, we need equitable access to tools, but not just vaccines and treatment. Shots and treatment don’t stop transmission. In general, pharmaceutical interventions are not applicable to everyone due to their immune systems and medical conditions. The layered approach is needed to ensure health equity.

Public health is about prevention

Just like the vaccines, treatment and tests require updating to target new variants and their effectiveness reduces as the virus rapidly mutates.

A real-world study published in JAMA Open Network found that Paxlovid is now less effective at preventing hospitalization or death in high-risk patients as compared to earlier studies. Read the article in Medscape.

COVID-19 has already killed millions and at least 65 million people have Long Covid around the world. Roughly ¾ of US adults are at high risk of severe Covid because of medical conditions, disabilities, racial discrimination, social disparities and environmental factors. That doesn’t even include children. COVID-19 is a leading cause of death and severe sickness in children. Long Haulers, disabled by organ damage and chronic symptoms, are also joining the high-risk community.

Prevention is always better than treatment

People who get Long COVID require comprehensive care and a complicated diagnostic process. But unlike other wealthy countries, the US doesn’t have safety nets or healthcare for all. Hospital and medication costs can make a person without adequate health insurance homeless. That’s one glaring reason why lack of prevention puts the most vulnerable people in great danger.

In July, 2023, our community posted their demands for Dr. Cohen on Facebook in over 100 comments. Together we created a petition to demand the CDC embrace ALL the tools. We are once again in another wave. It will take every one of us to move this mountain. Please add your name and share the petition.

Sign the Petition

Brace for C19 Wave 2023!

We are hosting a Town Hall Gathering on September 7 & 8

Click and join our Q&A sessions with Experts. Registration required.

Meeting Schedule:

Dr. Camille Clare | Thu. Sep 7 | 5 PM EDT. Let’s pay attention to the steep rise in COVID hospitalizations & ER visits among Ages 0-1. What are the preventive strategies for pregnant people and new parents?

Dr. Angelique Corthals | Thu. Sep 7 | 6 PM EDT. Vaccine Only Won’t Stop the Spread. Why is the layered approach necessary?

Dr. Robi Tamargo | Thu. Sep 7 | 7 PM EDT. What happens when COVID damages your brain and the nervous system? Let’s discuss the Neurological Impact of Long Covid.

Community Chat | Fri. Sep 8 | 5 PM EDT. Meet our team. Bring your stories and share with us.

Dr. Kaitlin Sundling (Masking in Healthcare) | Fri. Sep 8 | 6 PM EDT. Nosocomial infection endangers patients and healthcare workers. Let’s discuss mitigation strategies to prevent healthcare-acquired infections.

Dr. Jon Levy | Fri. Sep 8 | 7 PM EDT. Environmental Science in COVID Prevention. What an institution can do in order to keep citizens informed and reduce the risk for all.

Michael Bailey, founder of Indoor Air Care Advocates | Fri. Sep 8 | 8 PM EDT. Clean Air Helps Keep Kids in Classrooms. How can parents advocate for their children to reduce transmission of airborne viruses?

Click and join our Q&A sessions with Experts on Sept 7 & 8. Registration required.

Register Here

Sep 8th Webinar Recording

Watch the Sep 8th Q&A Recording from Brace for C19 Wave 2023 with MaskTogetherAmerica Town Hall Virtual Gathering

To help everyone stay informed about the new C19 surge in the U.S., MaskTogetherAmerica started a Webinar series. Our September 8th webinar featured Dr. Kaitlin Sundling, a physician, scientist, and pathologist from Madison, Wisconsin, Dr. Jon Levy, Professor and Chair of the Department of Environmental Health at Boston University School of Public Health and Michael Bailey, founder of Indoor Air Care Advocates from Alabama.

Click to watch the Sep 8th Webinar

Watch the Webinar

Manifesto of MaskTogetherAmerica

“You’re not alone. We are in this together.”

Members of our advocacy group made this promise in April 2020. MaskTogetherAmerica is committed to supporting public health through raising awareness by amplifying individual voices through images and writing.

Our grassroots campaign has over 10K followers, reaching over 100,000 social media users per month. Because of our followers, we reach every state, even other countries including Canada, Japan, U.K. and India.

We use our platforms on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to share published articles about preventable diseases because life-saving info about preventive measures shouldn’t require subscriptions.

Though COVID-19, RSV, Flu, TB and many other respiratory infections are preventable, we are losing precious lives daily. Countless people are suffering due to post-viral issues including Long Covid. People need to know the truth.

The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t over for ~200 million high-risk Americans. More than ever, the absence of preventive protocols in public spaces makes COVID-19 an emergency to the elderly and spoonies, especially those who are immunocompromised.

“If I can’t do great things, I can do small things in a great way.” Dr. King said. We are inspired by this human-rights leader. Join our movement. Raise awareness. People can’t be forced. They need strong reasons to take action. Let’s promote the layered approach in sickness prevention through education.

Stay #COVIDSMART

Isolate when testing

Wear N95s together

Disinfect frequently-touched surfaces

Clean hands regularly

Open windows

Air purifiers + HEPA filters

Test and report to Make My Test Count

Get Vaccinated

2nd Bivalent (65+ or Immunocompromised)

To volunteer, send a masked-selfie with a note to MaskTogetherAmerica@gmail.com. Let’s normalize prevention, not infection.

Please take action with us: When you sign the petition, please leave a comment for a book we are making. We will share everyone’s signatures and comments with elected officials.

Sign the Petition

MaskTogetherAmerica Expert Forum II on YouTube

Watch April 12, 2023 MaskTogetherAmerica Expert Forum II to Discuss Outcomes of Ending C19 Emergency Declarations - Q&A - featuring Dr. Dhavel Desai, MD Dr. Jonathan Levy Dr. Camille Clare, MD, MPH Dr. Angelique Corthals Introduction by Julie Lam, Founder of MaskTogetherAmerica. Moderated by Sarah Cahill, Coordinator of MaskTogetherAmerica.

The lively discussion shows that we need to track the virus, follow science, use all the mitigation tools, continue to find better solutions, raise awareness and prepare our country for surges in the future because the virus is not done with us. Ending Emergency Declarations prematurely will break the entire pandemic safety net. If people must pay for tests and treatments, many simply won't. People at high risk will be greatly endangered. We cannot tolerate cutting funding for research, virus surveillance, preventive measures and treatment in a country where healthcare isn't free for all.

Please take action with us: When you sign the petition, please leave a comment for a book we are making. We will share everyone’s signatures and comments with elected officials.

Sign the Petition

MaskTogetherAmerica PROPOSES “SICKNESS PREVENTION” EDUCATION CAMPAIGN TO SENATORS

Health advocacy group travels to Washington, DC to plead with Government officials to help prevent another upsurge of COVID-19 and support the marginalized high-risk community.

Washington, DC – Members from MaskTogetherAmerica, a public health advocacy group, traveled April 27, to speak on behalf of countless Americans, about the rippling effects about to happen due to the ending of the COVID-19 emergency declarations.

The MaskTogetherAmerica team, led by founder Julie Lam, initiated meetings with government officials to propose a “Sickness Prevention” education campaign, similar to the very successful Tips From Former Smokers campaign launched in 2012. MaskTogetherAmerica’s mission is to educate the public to understand how to prevent another surge so there will be no need for mandates and lockdowns.

Senator Tammy Duckworth, Senator Ed Markey and Senator Chris Van Hollen’s offices met with members and advisors of the group to listen to the “Sickness Prevention” proposal, a multi-language campaign that would help normalize a layered approach to mitigations. The campaign would help the public visualize the debilitating symptoms of Long Covid and explain why mask wearing, isolating the sick, using purifiers to help reduce the viral load in the air, and promote testing and reporting cases is so vital.

“Public health experts have warned that Long Covid is a mass disabling event. If proper precautions are not taken, our country’s workforce could be affected by mass disability for the next 10 to 20 years,” Lam explained to the health policy fellows of each of the Senators’ offices.

The trip to Washington, DC and the genesis of the “Sickness Prevention” education campaign was spurred on by a petition launched on MaskTogetherAmerica’s social media platforms on February 4, 2023. The petition, co-sponsored by a Marked by COVID, a nonprofit grassroots organization leading the national movement for pandemic justice and remembrance, has garnered over 5,400 signatures and a flood of impassioned comments.

“A Covid infection, mild or not, increases the severity of diabetes, vascular and cardiac diseases, autoimmune diseases and other infectious diseases, including bacterial, viral and fungal. We have to do more,” Lam said. “An effective ‘Sickness Prevention’ campaign would be the catalyst to bringing an end to passing sickness to colleagues, friends and family.”

Nearly 200 million adults in the U.S. have one or more comorbidities that put them at high risk of severe sickness or developing long term health issues from an infection of SARS-CoV-2.

“It’s heartbreaking to see our public health agencies ignoring the health threat,” Lam said. “We can make a difference if we work together. I urge everyone to write to your Senators and Representatives asking them to support the “Sickness Prevention” education campaign. When we come together, they can’t ignore us.”

Please take action with us: When you sign the petition, please leave a comment for a book we are making. We will share everyone’s signatures and comments with elected officials.

Sign the Petition

MaskTogetherAmerica Expert Forum I

Thank you to all who attended our Expert Forum event on March 10, 2023.

Our first Mask Together America Expert Foruma was a success watch the replay HERE!

We discussed some predictable outcomes of ending COVID-19 Emergency Declarations—featuring Dr. Helen Pesola, Dr. Robi R. Tamargo, PsyD, Dr. Angelique Corthals, moderated by Sarah Cahill.

Our experts’ presentations made clear that we need to track the virus, follow science, use all the mitigation tools, continue to find better solutions, raise awareness and prepare our country for surges in the future because the virus is not done with our planet. We wish it was.

We heard from Dr. Helen Pesola on how ending the emergency will mean uninsured Americans who have had access to free COVID testing and treatments since 2020 will soon have to pay for those, and the insured may have co-pays. We also heard how prevalent and lasting Long COVID symptoms can be.

We heard from Dr. Robi Tamargo about her firsthand account of what Long COVID can do to someone previously active and fit with no underlying conditions. She described mental health symptoms nobody talks about like psychosis and significant memory loss.

We heard from Dr. Angelique Corthals on how ending the emergency would mean vital funding for research into vaccines and treatments will end.

We CAN'T allow this to happen without speaking out!

Don't forget to sign and share our petition to Oppose Ending the National and Public Health Emergency Declarations.

Watch the Video    Sign the Petition