Research briefing update

An updated briefing, prepared by Battelle, summarizes research available on vaccines, variants, and ventilation. Among the new findings: 

• Ventilation: One study looked at impacts of various mitigation measures on long-range and short-range transmission risk. Increasing ventilation resulted in a 17-fold decrease in risk at long range, but only a 6-fold decrease in risk at close range. Additionally, the benefit of maintaining a 2m or 1m distance was dependent on air turbulence and ventilation rate in the space. 
• Variants: Recent studies examining mask requirements in K-12 school settings have linked these requirements to lower COVID-19 pediatric case rates. 
• Vaccines: Racial and ethnic groups now have similar uptake in receiving vaccines (71% of White adults, 70% of Black adults, and 73% of Hispanic adults), but there are still large gaps based on partisanship, education level, age, and health insurance status. 

View the briefing

Reflections on the future of museum work

Starlyn D’Angelo is both the executive director of the Hart Cluett Museum and a board member of the Museum Association of New York. In this interview, she shares how her experiences over the past 20 months have shaped what it means to do museum work, particularly at a county history museum and historic house.

Read the article

Is your institution working to increase vaccine confidence?

If your museum or library is engaging or interested in engaging in vaccine confidence work, apply for funding to support your efforts from Communities for Immunity. The application process is quick and easy. Applications for awards up to $100,000 are due October 29.

Communities for Immunity is led by the Association of Science and Technology Centers and the American Alliance of Museums with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Learn more and apply