Alliance for Aging Research Releases National PSA Calling on Americans to Wear Masks to Stop the Spread of the Deadly Coronavirus

WASHINGTON, August, 5, 2020 – The national effort to get the COVID-19 health crisis under control is largely dependent on everyone wearing masks. To elevate and reinforce this urgent message from federal health officials, the Alliance for Aging Research (“Alliance”) created a 30-second video public service announcement (PSA) spotlighting nationally-recognized influencers, thought-leaders, and everyday citizens wearing their masks to protect the people they love from the deadly virus.

A University of Washington study shows that 40,000 Americans could be saved if everyone would wear a mask. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield recently said the United States could get the spread of the novel coronavirus “under control” within a matter of weeks if everyone wore face coverings. Research has shown that masks are among the most effective measures to prevent the spread of the virus.

Yet, the mask issue has been politicized, and as a result, there is ongoing resistance to the idea of wearing them. Face covering mandates and regulations vary from state to state, and in some cases, even from county to county, giving people the option of not wearing a mask and instead potentially infecting their loved ones.

“Our new PSA asks the question, ‘If you could do just one, simple thing to protect the people you love from getting sick, would you?’ ,” said Susan Peschin, MHS, President and CEO of the Alliance. “We want people to answer the question for themselves and follow their own lead. This is the premise behind our #WearAMask PSA. Our goal is for people to sort through their own feelings and beliefs and create buy-in that will literally help save thousands of lives.”

The PSA was distributed to more than 2,000 television stations and cable networks and their affiliates around the nation. Additionally, the video is being shared widely with the Alliance’s social media community, fellow patient advocacy organizations, and with members of the media to use as an educational resource of their own. The #WearAMask PSA is just one of the COVID-19-related educational materials developed by the Alliance in an effort to protect older Americans and their families and help curb the spread of the virus.

The #WearAMask PSA can be viewed at https://www.agingresearch.org/mask. For other important and easy-to-share COVID-19-related resources, visit www.agingresearch.org/covid. Support for the Alliance’s COVID-19 educational materials is provided by The Pfizer Foundation, Inc.

About the Alliance for Aging Research
The Alliance for Aging Research is the leading nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating the pace of scientific discoveries and their application to vastly improve the universal human experience of aging and health. The Alliance believes advances in research help people live longer, happier, more productive lives and reduce healthcare costs over the long term. For more than 30 years, the Alliance has guided efforts to substantially increase funding and focus for aging at the National Institutes of Health and Food and Drug Administration; built influential coalitions to guide groundbreaking regulatory improvements for age-related diseases; and created award-winning, high-impact educational materials to improve the health and well-being of older adults and their family caregivers. For more information, visit www.agingresearch.org

Media Contact:
Janelle Germanos
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(202) 688-1209