A reader recently sent me this petition to the Illinois state legislature, which asks lawmakers to request that the state health department reconsider its position on masks in healthcare settings. This petition is one of many advocacy efforts that have pushed for healthcare organizations to continue prioritizing COVID-19 safety.
In Illinois: the state health department ended its mask requirement in healthcare settings on May 11, timed with the end of the public health emergency. This petition, authored by patients, doctors, and researchers in Illinois, requests that legislators tell the health department that this choice was a mistake. Illinois residents can sign onto it here.
For readers outside Illinois who’d like to get involved with these efforts, Mandate Masks US, the COVID Advocacy Initiative, and COVID Safe Campus have compiled a toolkit to advocate for masks in healthcare with political and healthcare organizations. The People’s CDC offers some resources in this area as well. While the advocacy groups’ Week of Action on this issue may have passed (it took place in mid-May), there are still many ways to help push for safer healthcare settings.