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

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:

  • <h4>Prevent price gouging</h4><p>We need stronger action from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prevent sellers from taking advantage of consumers. <a href='https://uspirg.webaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=37230' style='text-decoration:underline!important;'>Take action.</a></p>
  • <h4>Consumer tips & resources</h4><p>We’ve assembled a set of consumer tips and guides, and will add more in the days and weeks to come. <a href='https://uspirg.org/feature/usp/consumer-tips' style='text-decoration:underline!important;'>Learn more.</a></p>
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?

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

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

Nursing Home Safety During COVID

At any given time, about 1.3 million people with long-term medical issues or short-term rehabilitation needs are residing in the nation’s 15,000 nursing homes. And too many of them are at risk due to dangerous shortages of personal protective equipment and staff, according to ongoing research by U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group, which has been analyzing government data.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

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. 

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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News Release: PRESIDENT BIDEN TO ISSUE KEY EXECUTIVE ORDERS TO COMBAT COVID-19
President Joe Biden is set to issue two executive orders Wednesday to combat COVID-19. One will mandate mask-wearing on federal property and by all federal employees. The other will establish a COVID-19 Response Coordinator position.
News Release: COVID-19 DEATHS REACH ANOTHER GRIM MILESTONE: 400,000
COVID-19 will kill more Americans, but it’s in our control to make sure it takes as few lives as possible.
Report: 1 YEAR LATER: COMPARING PRE-PANDEMIC PRICES TO TODAY'S ON AMAZON
Review of 750 products shows how prices on essentials fluctuated during COVID-19.
TOGETHER AGAINST COVID: NOT FORGOTTEN
Please join us and hundreds of others in an action to highlight the real cost of COVID. As 2020 draws to a close more than 300,000 people have died from COVID-19. The week-long vigil starts December 27th; record your video and post it on your social media channels (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram) anytime before the year ends.
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: COVID-19 testing put to the test
Testing is an important tool to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, but it's important to know when and how to get tested.
Blog Post: More COVID testing is a key to making us safer this winter
PIRG has launched a campaign calling on governors across the country to commit to hitting a testing target that will keep us safer in the coming months.
Blog Post: COVID-19 vaccines, tests and treatments are peddled in new scams
Con-artists are preying on people's fear of infection or desperation for money.
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: U.S. PIRG URGES CONGRESS TO PASS COVID-19 PACKAGE NOW
https://uspirg.org/news/usp/us-pirg-urges-congress-pass-covid-19-package-now U.S. PIRG is urging Congress to immediately pass legislation to pay for key defenses against the rapidly worsening COVID-19 crisis in the United States, including testing and personal protective equipment (PPE).
Blog Post: How many lives will we choose to save?
COVID-19 is raging across the country, and experts warn that without swift action, tens of thousands of people will die.
News Release: EXPERTS SAY MORE FUNDING, STAFFING NEEDED TO EFFECTIVELY ROLL OUT COVID-19 VACCINE
As word of a second viable COVID-19 vaccine became public, U.S. PIRG hosted a panel discussion with health experts from across the country to discuss how states and cities are planning to distribute the shots that eventually could stifle the pandemic. The panelists all agreed that the federal government needs to allocate more funds to effectively roll out a vaccine.
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