The State Department of Public Health is launching a 30 million dollar program to distribute air purifiers to Illinois schools.
Public Health Spokesperson Mike Claffey says the goal is to reduce the transmission of respiratory viruses like the flu and R-S-V.
Claffey says, “One of the things we learned during the COVID Pandemic was the importance of keeping the air free of pathogens in schools, and so the CDC has been providing funding to the State to improve air quality in schools.”
Claffey says there will be an enrollment process for districts to submit orders for air purifiers.
Claffey says, “We’re targeting schools in lower income communities and counties that have elevated air pollution counts. We estimated about 3,000 schools in the state will be eligible for this program, and that covers 58% of the school districts in the state.”
The portable air purifiers will be delivered to districts in the coming months.
