Violet Affleck, the daughter of actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, spoke about the dangers of long COVID and the importance of clean air at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Tuesday.
Affleck, 19, was among several speakers featured at an event called “Healthy Indoor Air — A Global Call to Action,” held at the United Nations in New York.
“Here’s what we know about SARS CoV2,” Affleck said. “It is airborne, floating, and lingering in the air. One infection can result in disabling damage to almost every cell in the body, from the brain and heart to the nerves and blood vessels. Every subsequent infection increases the risk of long COVID and places people who already have it in greater danger.”
Affleck, who wore a mask during her speech, expressed concern about the prevalence of long COVID in young children.
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“It is neglect of the highest order to look children in the eyes and say, ‘We knew how to protect you and we didn’t do it,’” she said. “We have access to a technology to prevent airborne disease, something that millions of our ancestors and millions of people around the world today would kill for. And we refuse to use it. And I shudder to think of where we will be in another five years of unmitigated infection and reinfection.”
Long COVID afflicts an estimated 7 percent of the population, or close to 18 million Americans.
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Affleck compared the current situation to the campaign fought years ago against indoor smoking.
“My only memory of that era at almost 20 years old is being confused as a child about the no-smoking signs on planes,” she said. “Who would do that? That’s gross.”
Affleck said similar efforts are needed today.
“My hope for this event and my belief in this community rests on the belief that we can and we must do that again. We can recognize filtered air as a human right as intuitively as we do filtered water,” she said. “We can create clean air infrastructure that is so ubiquitous and so obviously necessary tomorrow’s children don’t even know why we need it.”
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22.