Let’s Talk About Airborne Awareness.

Being ‘Covid Conscious’ (CC) and ‘Airborne Aware’ isn’t some new trend that will pass over time. It is a lifestyle decision that myself, and others who have become conscious to the dangers of airborne diseases and toxins, have taken on as an act of self and community care. In Asia, airborne awareness has been ingrained culturally, broadening the use of disease mitigations (Corey, 2025). In America, 80% of people reported not wearing a mask in public spaces, as recently as one year ago (Corey, 2025). Knowing that Asia has a tendency for collectivist culture, while America is highly individualistic, these statistics may not surprise you. However, whether your motivation is personal or communal, there are many reasons and ways to mitigate getting and spreading deadly diseases, like Covid-19.

Did You Know? Now You Will.

Covid-19 has been the deadliest virus in American history (Gamillo, 2021), but only 20% of Americans believe that Covid-19 remains a major threat to public health, today (Corey, 2025). Less than half of Americans support staying home from work and school, wearing a mask in crowds, and testing for Covid-19 when ill (Tyson, et al., 2025). Around the world, anti-mask violence is increasing, with anecdotal stories like these (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) popping up on the internet everyday. Yet, major media and public health outlets have largely moved on from reporting and tracking Covid-19, let alone other deadly airborne diseases and toxins. The responsibility has been passed on to us, the general public, to mitigate disease on our own through continued data collection and education, increased disease mitigation strategies and access to such tools, and advocacy towards federal and global protections against airborne threats.

What You Can Do (And Reflections On Why You Might Not Do It Yet).

Not all hope is lost. From the statistics shared above, we can see that there are still significant percentages of people who do believe in disease severity and mitigation (Corey, 2025). Others may be missing critical information, fearful of the social repercussions of taking disease mitigations, or otherwise experiencing difficulty accessing the tools necessary to help keep themselves and others healthy. Still, it is important that we know the tools available to us, if we want to move closer to a more caring and Airborne Aware world.

Tools for Mitigating Disease Spread (Escalating in General Accessibility/Cost)

• Following weekly Wastewater Data and Levels, as well as prevalence estimates on Native American land, through the Pandemic Mitigation Collective (PMC), or elsewhere, worldwide, through the World Health Organization (WHO).

• Minimizing or refraining from activities that are known to increase risk of airborne illness , especially during times of increased infection rates.

• Helping to address knowledge gaps by sharing Covid-19/airborne illness prevalence, severity, and mitigation strategy information with family, friends, workplace peers, online communities, etc. (start by sharing this newsletter, or the linked resources, even).

• Maintaining up-to-date vaccines and boosters for all illnesses as well as regularly testing for Covid-19, even when symptoms are not present.

• Obtaining and wearing a high-quality respirator while in public spaces (find out how to identify respirator quality here), either for free through your Local Mask Bloc (Find Yours Here), or by purchasing them yourself through a trusted retailer (the ‘MasksForAll’ Reddit community has a list of ‘Top Mask Resources’ in their bio; a good place to start).

• Advocating for, purchasing or making, utilizing, and sharing HEPA-filter-capable air purifiers within your home, workplace, school, and other indoor community settings.

• Advocating for, purchasing, utilizing, and sharing UV-C Light technologies within your home, workplace, school, and other indoor community settings.

• And More!

This is a lot, And I Don’t Do Any (or Only Do Some) of These.

That might be what you’re thinking at this point in the newsletter. That’s okay! Five years ago, I still wore fabric and surgical masks as a primary mitigation tool. Three years ago, I was not refraining from all high-risk in-person activities, like indoor dining/unmasked family events without prior testing. Up until about 2 years ago, I did not filter my in-home air. My knowledge of and commitment to airborne awareness and advocacy has been gradual and compounding. I remain steady in my commitment to continue learning and growing by remembering the love that I have for my communities, and dreaming of a world where we can all breathe freely.

The mitigation strategies that I have shared here take a lot of time, energy, financing, and planning to implement in your day-to-day life. The privilege to be able to do so is not lost on me. However, I wonder what might happen when we free ourselves from the thought that ‘Clean air advocacy is for a class more privileged/resourced/capable than me’?

If you are not yet taking mitigating strategies (or would like to take more), why not yet? When is the last time you considered taking a disease-mitigating strategy? What was your motivation or barrier? How has that motivation or barrier changed?

Do you fear isolation, if you were to take up Airborne Aware practices? Have you helped to reduce the isolation of someone impacted by airborne illness, recently (within the past month)? Are you fearful of being treated the way that you have been treating communities disproportionately impacted by airborne disease (children, the mad, pained, chronically ill, disabled, BBIA, Queer, etc.)? Do these questions make you uncomfortable/angry/annoyed?

What might happen if we examined our frustrations with curiosity? What are they telling us? Where is the sensitive spot? Are we chasing immediate gratification at the expense of longevity? Will we regret what we do now, if we are the ones who become victim to the next deadliest disease in human history?

These Questions Are A Lot to Ponder, but They are Not Too Much.

Rest assured, as a member of the Airborne Aware community, already, I still grapple with these questions daily. It is not an unwavering confidence in my actions that holds me steady in my advocacy and continued education. It is the willingness to face these questions, examine my values, change when necessary and to continue to choose life over death, in a world that wants otherwise.

If you are ready to begin your journey towards examining Airborne Aware living or biases for yourself, email [email protected] to book a FREE consultation session, today!