COVID-19 cases are rising once again partly due to the highly transmissible BA.2 subvariant.
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As more people contract the new variant, some are growing concerned once again with how to keep the air safe in indoor spaces, even in places as far as the White House.
The government buildings in Washington D.C. are all very old, which presents a bit of a challenge with updating HVAC systems to include filtration, according to Dr. Kim Prather, Director of the National Science Foundation's Center for Aerosol Impacts on Chemistry of the Environment and the Distinguished Chair in Atmospheric Chemistry at U.C. San Diego on KCBS Radio's "Ask an Expert" on Friday with Holly Quan and Jason Brooks.
"Right now they're talking to facilities and trying to figure out what to do," she said. "And the other congressional offices, I've been talking to people in those offices for months."
And those she's been in touch with have added more filtration in their spaces. "Right now people are finally paying attention to air," said Prather. "Although I just saw a poll where the public was asked, what's the number one way you can protect yourself – and guess what it was – it was handwashing."
Air filtration was very low on the list, and it serves as another reminder about the level of misinformation there is about the virus.
When in doubt, it's often simplest to go with an air purifier, instead of going to the trouble to update a building's HVAC system, "but that's the first place you should start, honestly," she said.
Improving the entire ventilation system in a building is complicated, but worth it if you can pull it off.
"But some of these ventilation systems are so old they're hard to get to the state that we need them without major changes or money," she said.
It's important to start looking into these things while the spread of the virus is high, and if the ventilation system can't be upgraded, snag a standalone HEPA filter or even make one yourself. "Call it a patch, but it might be for good," said Prather.
To make one, people can just tape together four filters, which can be bought at places like Home Depot, in a square, and places a box fan on top, according to Prather. Then the fan should be taped to the filters and a little hole cut out to improve airflow.
"It's super simple," she said, like wrapping a box to send in the mail. They're affordable at only about $70 to make instead of several hundred dollars on HEPA air purifiers, and more effective too.
Standalone purifiers have several advantages – they're cheap and easy to use – and they can also be spread around a room or space as needed.
"An HVAC system has to filter that entire volume of air from one spot, which is hard," she said. "It takes a while."
Within minutes, the effect is noticeable, said Prather, as it filters out not only the virus but other aerosols like pet dander and wildfire smoke. "We put up with breathing dirty air indoors and that’s got to change," she said. "And it's changing now."
"I truly believe it should and will extend beyond the pandemic," she said.
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