Overview

• The 19-year-old Yale student spoke on Sept. 23 at the UN’s “Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action” event in New York.
• She called for renewed mask mandates, broader access to protective equipment, and clean air infrastructure, comparing the goal to past indoor smoking bans and framing filtered air as a human right.
• Affleck argued SARS‑CoV‑2 is airborne and that repeat infections increase long COVID risk, citing Yale scientist Akiko Iwasaki’s claim that long COVID has surpassed asthma as the most common chronic illness in children.
• She delivered the remarks wearing a KN95 mask and criticized a rush to “back to normal,” saying adults failed to protect young people.
• Coverage of the UN appearance spread widely across mainstream and social media, with reactions ranging from praise to criticism and no immediate policy changes reported.