The one factor we’re NOT doing to mitigate the unfold of COVID-19

By Paul Taylor, former FEMA regional director 

Despite the chance supplied by a deluge of current federal funding for COVID-19 and infrastructure, we’re failing to correctly mitigate the only best present and future risk within the United States – the spread of infectious disease. To underline this shortcoming, even when not accounting for deaths from COVID-19, one in three Americans die of problems associated to infectious illness.

With the added strain of a once-in-a-century pandemic that has ravaged the nation for over a yr, we needs to be addressing this risk head-on. Yet, our decision-makers and media stay paralyzed by the politics of masks and vaccinations, unable to look broadly in any respect the opposite methods we may assist preserve our economic system, colleges, authorities, and long-term care services open and freed from ailments.

Masks and pictures aren’t sufficient

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have persistently really helpful that masks and vaccines are solely a part of a complete safety technique to fight the harmful pathogens within the air and on surfaces throughout us. Because their effectiveness is impacted by human error and/or compliance, masks and vaccines, with out different complementary strategies of disinfection and mitigation, can solely restrict the unfold of illness a lot.

The motive these two ways alone can by no means utterly forestall the unfold of illness is that they do nothing to eradicate or take away pathogens from our occupied areas. We have identified for a while now that the first technique of transmission of COVID-19 and lots of different critical infectious ailments is thru the air. Consequently, the CDC recommends offering clean air in enclosed, occupied areas as one of the best means for controlling infections. So far, there are solely three evidence-based strategies for doing this: growing air flow to swap indoor with out of doors air extra steadily, utilizing HEPA filters to repeatedly filter the air inside areas, and utilizing UV lights to always disinfect air and surfaces. Of these choices, UV disinfection technology is extremely efficient and far more cost effective, and but is likely one of the least utilized mitigation methods, probably resulting from misplaced issues over security.

A brand new model of a well-recognized expertise

The current game-changer in UV expertise that makes it such an efficient software in stopping the unfold of infectious illness is that Far UV makes use of even narrower wavelengths of UV mild (round 222 nm), permitting it to function safely in a room with human occupants whereas killing any airborne and floor particles earlier than they will unfold from an contaminated particular person to anybody else.

Far UV expertise has already been put in in some authorities buildings for over a yr, giving it a protracted monitor report of success in stopping unfold inside enclosed excessive occupancy areas. Now is the time for college officers and employers to suppose comprehensively in regards to the infectious illness risk inside their buildings and make the most of a layered strategy to mitigation and disinfection. The U.S. taxpayers have already supplied ample funding to state and native governments, companies, colleges, and different organizations to supply extra than simply PPE and easy disinfection. They ought to use this funding to implement a extra subtle threat mitigation technique designed to enhance the protection of our indoor areas and shield U.S. residents now and into the long run.

The position of decision-makers

Lawmakers even have a duty to hunt methods to strengthen constructing codes according to this considering and incorporate nascent wholesome constructing certifications much like the favored Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) awards accessible for environmentally accountable constructing development and upkeep. New requirements for indoor air high quality have been up to date, however extra incentives are wanted so as to encourage each constructing within the nation to satisfy them. Leaders that make knowledgeable, accountable selections now, utilizing available authorities funding, is not going to solely present safer environments for his or her staff, college students, and households, however may also shield themselves from future criticism and even litigation for failing to behave.

Decision-making throughout a pandemic is troublesome, particularly for our native leaders. Fortunately, after a yr and a half of public well being response, now we have higher instruments at our disposal, permitting us to maneuver past COVID-19 and put together ourselves for the following infectious illness risk. While scientific, cost, and safety arguments are all compelling causes to implement far UV expertise as broadly as potential, frequent sense offers an important motive: If a far UV mild on the ceiling of a room can present extra safety to the occupants than every one in every of them carrying an N-95 masks, then why shouldn’t that expertise even be in our colleges, buses, places of work and ready rooms?

Paul Taylor is a retired Colonel with greater than twenty years within the U.S. Army, with a number of abroad excursions, in addition to serving within the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. He was most lately the Regional Administrator for FEMA Region 7 in Kansas City, the place he was answerable for all federal authorities catastrophe response and preparedness actions in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa, together with the COVID-19 response. He continues to work within the Emergency Management discipline within the personal sector.