Responding to the crisis

The COVID-19 pandemic poses an unprecedented challenge for our country, threatening our health, wellbeing and democracy. Now more than ever, we need to work together to ensure that our government has a coordinated, strategic response to safeguard the public’s health, protect consumers from emerging dangers and ensure people can still participate fully in our democracy.

U.S. PIRG has assembled a COVID-19 response team of policy experts, state advocates, organizers and researchers. And we are coordinating the efforts of the PIRGs around the country through our national lobbying office (U.S. PIRG). If we all pull together, we can find concrete ways to protect public health, consumers and our democracy. Here’s how you help:

Together Against Covid

If we ever want to get this virus under control, and get some semblance of our lives back, we have to start doing things differently, and our leaders need to help us make the collective sacrifices it will take to save the lives of our family, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

ARE YOU A HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL?

Test More, Save Lives

We need to come together in a bold and immediate way to get more tests to the people that need them.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Let hospitals fix their equipment

If a trained hospital technician can repair a lifesaving piece of medical equipment, such as a ventilator, they should be allowed to do so -- especially during a global pandemic. But manufacturers often restrict access to service information for the devices they make, making it unnecessarily difficult for hospitals to maintain their own equipment. We're working to pass a Medical Right to Repair bill to end hospital repair restrictions.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Protect healthcare workers now

We’re months into the COVID-19 crisis, and health professionals in some areas of the country still lack the supplies they need to protect themselves and care for patients. That's why we're calling on Congress to immediately pass the Medical Supply Transparency and Delivery Act, which would establish a central, transparent system for procuring and distributing critical medical supplies directly to impacted areas.

Stronger action needed to prevent price gouging

Some businesses are still significantly inflating prices for critical supplies. We need stronger action from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent sellers from taking advantage of consumers.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

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Share consumer tips & resources

How do you avoid phishing and other online scams? Can you get a refund for travel expenses? How do you protect your credit? We’ve assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days to come.

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Get consumer alerts

Sign up for our consumer alerts, and spread the word about unsafe products and other consumer risks to your friends, family and others.

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Report: NURSING HOME SAFETY DURING COVID: PPE SHORTAGES

Thousands of nursing homes nationwide are dealing with horrific shortages of masks, gowns and other items they need to protect residents, workers and the broader community from COVID-19. And seven months into this pandemic, the shortages have actually become much worse.

Blog Post: Home safe for the holidays

Public Health Campaigns Director Matt Wellington and Dr. Syra Madad detail how people can safely gather this holiday season in the era of COVID-19.

News Release: U.S. PIRG promotes national “Week of Mourning”

U.S. PIRG is partnering with Marked by COVID for a national Week of Mourning, October 4th-11th, to mourn those lost to COVID-19 and to call for action to save lives.

Blog Post: Riding a bus, subway or rideshare? Here’s a look at safety measures adopted to combat COVID-19

From mask mandates to capacity limits, the largest public transit systems and ride share companies have new procedures.

Report: HIGH COVID-19 PRICES PERSIST ON AMAZON

U.S. PIRG Education Fund searched Amazon and other major retailers for 10 of the most popular COVID-19 consumer products, and found that ridiculous pandemic pricing is still an issue.

Blog Post: Which retailers require customers to wear face masks?

Only four out of 20 major chain stores studied still allow customers to shop without face coverings.

News Release: TOP ECONOMISTS CALL ON STATES TO ‘START OVER AND DO IT RIGHT’ TO CONTAIN COVID-19

“Our nation’s economy will remain in crisis as long as the COVID-19 virus spreads unchecked,” according to an open letter economists from leading universities signed in response to the botched pandemic response across the United States. The letter, circulated by U.S. PIRG, calls on public officials to “Start Over and Do It Right” to contain COVID-19 this time.

News Release: NEW CDC GUIDELINES OFFER RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SAFE VOTING DURING COVID-19

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently updated its guidance for voting safely during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The agency’s recommendations center around how to reduce dangerous crowding at polling places and how to minimize the risk of infection when voting.

Blog Post: How the pandemic could change our streets for the better

Cities across the country have opened up streets to pedestrians and cyclists during the pandemic. Here's the case for why they should stay open.

Blog Post: Six questions to ask before allowing a contractor into your home during the COVID-19 pandemic

Being proactive and demanding can help keep you and your family safe.

Report: CFPB COMPLAINTS SURGE DURING PANDEMIC, LED BY CREDIT REPORT COMPLAINTS

For the fifth consecutive month, consumer complaints to the CFPB set a new monthly complaint volume record in July, according to an analysis by U.S. PIRG and the Frontier Group. This snapshot focuses on spikes in complaints about credit reporting.

Tip Guide: PROTECTING YOURSELF FROM TOXIC HAND SANITIZERS

After the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) flagged five brands of potentially dangerous hand sanitizers in June, the list of products that may be contaminated with methanol has skyrocketed to about 60 brands, which makes 135 varieties of sanitizer.

More Actions & Resources

How we can work together to address the COVID-19 pandemic