Dear friend,

With 400+ deaths a day from COVID in the US alone, child hospitalizations on the rise, and a CDC report showing 1 in 5 adults develop Long COVID, the pandemic is far from over. Yet just last week, the CDC released a horrifying set of new, relaxed guidelines.

At the People’s CDC, we know that we can keep each other safe. We know that we can do better – and that together, we can fight for a just and equitable pandemic response. Join us in calling and writing to the White House and our Congress people to denounce the new guidelines, and demand they use all the tools available to keep us all safe.

Letter Text:

Dear President Biden and Members of Congress,

I’m concerned about the disgraceful new CDC COVID guidelines. 400 people are dying daily in the US alone. Thousands are becoming severely and chronically ill from a preventable disease. Due to the constant evolution of new COVID variants, the US has been in a surge - currently seeing high or substantial transmission in 99% of US counties - since early June. And while elderly, Indigenous, Black, Latinx, immunocompromised and disabled people bear the biggest burden, all are affected as many young healthy adults and children die and are impacted by Long COVID in unpredictable patterns.

The guidelines place the responsibility of public health onto individuals, without providing individuals proper resources or support. This is unacceptable. We need responsible, clear CDC guidelines that will keep our communities and our loved ones safe. We need you to act to stop the unchecked spread of COVID-19, immediately. We need:

• Free access to N95-grade masks for all;

• Free access to PCR and rapid testing;

• Robust, universal, paid sick leave;
  

• Mask mandates in public places, including schools, public transport and medical facilities;
  

• Federal funding and guidance for ventilation and filtration updates, coupled with meaningful regulation;
  

• Universal access to healthcare including continued COVID treatment and testing for uninsured people;
  

• Updated vaccines and universal access to them globally.
  

You must choose a healthier, more equitable pandemic response. We all deserve better.

If you wish to call the White House, the Comment line is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11am-3pm EST

• White House Phone #: 202-456-1111 — TTY / TTD 202-456-6213 (*)

Or if you prefer to write to the White House directly, here is the contact form & mailing address:

• White House Contact form: https://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

• Mailing address: 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Find your representatives: https://whoaremyrepresentatives.org/

More context:

The guidelines remove guidance around masking, quarantine and isolation, including in schools – even while a new CDC report shows that children with a prior COVID infection are at increased risk for blood clots, heart problems, diabetes, and kidney failure. The guidelines place even more responsibility onto individuals than ever before and ignore all COVID-related outcomes they classify as “not severe” – including Long COVID.

These updated guidelines underscore the CDC’s refusal to control or prevent disease, and send a clear message that they believe 400+ deaths per day are acceptable. The CDC is asking us to continue allowing our children, neighbors, coworkers, and friends to die; to surrender to the “inevitability” of Long COVID; and to accept that those of us who are disabled must endure ever increasing isolation - all in the name of a wretched economy.