masks and respirators
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COVID-19 advocates are distributing masks to protect Californians from wildfire smoke
As the skies of Los Angeles filled with smoke this week from multiple raging wildfires, many residents quickly recognized failures in local and state governments’ ability to protect them from hazardous air pollution. Community members from local COVID-19 advocacy and mutual aid groups stepped in to fill this gap, providing stockpiled respirators and information about…
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A brief, oral history of mask blocs: Part 3
U.S. government officials began introducing mask ban proposals and legislation during the summer and fall of 2024, despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic that has killed at least 40,000 Americans this year. Mask blocs in impacted regions were sometimes the only groups poised or willing to respond. In this final piece of a three-part series, mask…
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A brief, oral history of mask blocs: Part 2
Established mask blocs — mutual aid groups distributing high-quality respirator masks for free — often support newer blocs with educational materials or mask stock to get started. In part two of our three-part series, organizers describe how they created resources for other blocs to get started, including a collaborative, in-depth zine co-authored by bloc members…
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A brief, oral history of mask blocs: Part 1
Mask blocs are grassroots mutual aid groups that distribute high-quality masks, such as N95s, for free in response to public health failures during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Many were created and are led by disabled people, many of whom had little or no prior organizing experience. Many include organizers who have Long COVID. Most of…
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“Perfect storm” of criminalization: Analyzing mask bans
While the conversation around mask bans has focused on new laws and bills, 21 states and many municipalities have laws banning masks and/or disguises in different settings, which is more than other organizations have reported. Even where these bans have apparent limitations or exemptions, the finer language of the laws leaves all COVID-conscious people vulnerable.…
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Don’t just breathe clean air, breathe it well
It was my dentist who recommended that I read Breath, a nonfiction book that chronicles Nestor’s scientific and personal journey into the research and impacts of breath on the human body, the benefits of certain breathing techniques, and the detriments of others. He probably meant to publish it with the 50th anniversary of the Clean…
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Research updates, May 28
Research updates for the week of May 28 include a new gold standard review of masks and respirators, Moderna’s interest in Long Covid, and changes in brain structure.
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How to make spaces more accessible during the continuing pandemic
The relentlessness of the pandemic, now in its fifth year, is drawn out by the persistence of its denial. The federal emergency ended, Covid-19 precautions have been lifted for years, and though many people are “back to normal,” over 20,000 people in the United States died of Covid-19 since the beginning of 2024. Millions who…
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How mask blocs are keeping communities safe with neglected government stockpiles
To supply plentiful, free masks to anyone who requests them, mask bloc members track down large quantities of quality masks being sold cheaply or offered for free. In this way, Covid-19 safety groups and mask blocs essentially function as narrow supply chains in specific regions, with bloc members focusing on distribution as well as acquisition.…
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Project N95 ending mask store, free distributions by the end of 2023
Project N95, the nonprofit organization that distributes high-quality masks and other Covid-19 safety equipment, announced last month that it will wind down its operations at the end of 2023. This closure marks the end of an effort that provided a trustworthy place to buy masks online and distributed millions of free masks to communities in…
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