Petition to Drug Stores: Stop In-Store COVID Exposure & Transmission!
WE NEED A DRUG STORE MASK REQUIREMENT!
Dear Friends,
Please join us in calling for pharmacies to stop the spread of COVID (and other viruses) inside stores by signing our petition. And we invite you to use this letter in part or full, if you’d like to send the message personally to your local drug store. (Mask efficacy references and social media graphics below.)
To ALL DRUG STORES (Including, CVS, Walgreens, Kroger Health, Rite-Aid, Walmart Pharmacy, Good Neighbor Pharmacy, Costco Pharmacy, Safeway, Giant Pharmacy, and independent pharmacies)
Petition:
Current U.S. policies tell immune-compromised folks at high risk and other vulnerable people to go to pharmacies to get vaccines and boosters – at the same time as people contagious with active COVID infections are going there to get Paxlovid and COVID tests, and others who may not yet know they are contagious are simply shopping.
ALL WITH NO MASKS!
This policy makes no sense. Drug stores are community shopping centers and provide healthcare.
To make them safer for all of us, please require masks for everybody in the stores. And please come up with plans at the stores to provide people with masks, offer drive-through where available, and curbside service or home delivery when possible.
It is not acceptable to require staff and customers to get exposed at essential service locations when this can be prevented. Pharmacies should be a safe location with infection control prioritized.
WE NEED A DRUG STORE MASK REQUIREMENT!
Spread the word by forwarding this by email or posting on social media.
Petition: WE NEED A DRUG STORE MASK REQUIREMENT!
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/we-need-a-drug-store-mask-requirement/
Petition: Drug stores need mask mandates!
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/we-need-a-drug-store-mask-requirement/
Petition to Drug Stores: Stop In-Store COVID Exposure & Transmission!
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/we-need-a-drug-store-mask-requirement/
Mask Efficacy References:
Efficacy of face masks against respiratory infectious diseases: a systematic review and network analysis of randomized-controlled trials "Eleven out of 16 RCTs that underwent a pairwise meta-analysis revealed a substantially lower infection risk in those donning medical face masks (MFMs) than those without face masks (RR 0.83 95% CI 0.71-0.96). Given the body of evidence through a systematic review and meta-analyses, our findings supported the protective benefits of MFMs in reducing respiratory transmissions, and the universal mask-wearing should be applied-especially during the COVID-19 pandemic."
Mandatory masking in schools reduced COVID-19 cases during Delta surge Schools with mandatory masking during the Delta surge had approximately 72% fewer cases of in-school transmission of SARS-CoV-2 when compared to schools with optional or partial masking policies, according to a study funded by the National Institutes of Health. The study included more than 1.1 million students and over 157,000 staff attending in-person school across nine states: North Carolina, Wisconsin, Missouri, California, Washington, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas and Texas.
CDC Effectiveness of Face Mask or Respirator Use in Indoor Public Settings for Prevention of SARS-CoV-2 Infection In addition to being up to date with recommended COVID-19 vaccinations, consistently wearing a comfortable, well-fitting face mask or respirator in indoor public settings protects against acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 infection; a respirator offers the best protection.
Impact of Lifting School Masking Requirements on Incidence of COVID-19 among Staff and Students in Greater-Boston Area School Districts: A Difference-in-Differences Analysis Before the statewide school masking policy was lifted, there was no statistically significant difference in case rate trajectories between school districts. However, weekly and cumulative case rates were significantly higher in students and staff in school districts that removed masking requirements, compared to districts that had not yet lifted requirements. We estimate that lifting of school masking requirements was associated with an additional 44.9 (95% CI: 32.6, 57.1) COVID-19 cases per 1,000 students and staff over the 15 weeks since the lifting of the statewide school masking requirement, representing nearly 30% of all cases observed in schools during that time.
Modeling COVID-19 Mortality Across 44 Countries: Face Covering May Reduce Deaths This study's significant results show that face mask mandates were associated with lower COVID-19 deaths rates than the rates in countries without mandates. These findings support the use of face masks to prevent excess COVID-19 deaths and should be advised during airborne disease epidemics