As a follow-up to the 2020 workshop on the airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (DELS-DELS-20-02), the Environmental Health Matters Initiative (EHMI) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine proposes to organize a virtual workshop series to explore strategies needed for airborne disease control and risk reduction in the built environment and other enclosed places. These workshops will consider infections with SARS-CoV-2 and other airborne pathogens, both those that are established and familiar, as well as emerging and novel pathogens.

Drawing on lessons learned and new research on indoor air management since 2020, this workshop series will convene an interdisciplinary group of natural, physical, and social scientists together with facilities managers, ventilation engineers, and representatives of populations using public and private facilities. Through panel discussions and participatory exercises, the participants will 1) review the state of knowledge concerning building management, ventilation, and air cleaning for airborne pathogens, 2) discuss experiences with management of enclosed spaces during the pandemic, and 3) identify promising practices to be adopted to make these places safer.

Specifically, the virtual workshop series is proposed to address the following critical questions:

1. What scientific progress was made since the initial workshop? What observations and studies increased the knowledge base to help further refine and inform public health decisions and guidance?
2. What is the state of knowledge with regard to the concentration of infectious aerosols and droplets in inhaled air and the risk for infection? Do we know enough to specify targets for infection control?
3. What have we learned about the profile of building ventilation in critical venues and other enclosed environments? How did the management of facilities adapt to the pandemic? What were the tradeoffs?
4. Do we have accurate methods for assessing building ventilation for infection control?
5. Do we have evidence on the effectiveness of air-cleaning? Sterilization?
6. Are tested approaches and toolkits available?

The workshop will not produce conclusions or recommendations. A proceedings in-brief capturing the presentations, discussions, and promising practices highlighted and attributed to the participants will be prepared in accordance with institutional guidelines.