Overview

• Speaking at the UN’s Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action on Sept. 23 in New York, the 19-year-old Yale student delivered her remarks while wearing a KN95 mask.
• She argued masks were dropped too quickly and called for mandates, widespread clean-air infrastructure, and ready access to high-quality protection and testing.
• Citing Yale immunologist Dr. Akiko Iwasaki, she said long COVID has surpassed asthma as the most common chronic illness in young children.
• She compared the push for cleaner indoor air to past campaigns against indoor smoking and said filtered air should be as universal as safe drinking water.
• The address drew broad media coverage and an active online response, with posts ranging from praise for her advocacy to sharp criticism.