[ad_1]
AUSTIN (Nexstar) – Former Texas Governor Rick Perry returned to the Capitol Halls on Monday to promote an air filtration company. Perry also serves on the company’s board of directors.
Integrated Viral Protection, or IVP, is a Houston-based company that describes itself as “the only proven airborne solution to capture and kill SARS-CoV-2” and other viruses. It’s unusual for current or former lawmakers to promote goods or businesses, but Perry told reporters that he believes this could be a “game changer” in the fight against COVID-19.
“You can literally and solidly say, using science as a guide, that you are in the safest place you can be,” Perry said at the Texas Capitol.
When asked by reporters about his involvement in the company, Perry jokingly said, “Well, that’s none of your business. I am no longer an official. “
However, Perry was accompanied by Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, who said they were not there to promote the company.
“We’re here to advance solutions,” said King. “… We hope that some of this money that comes down can be channeled into school districts and other institutions – public bodies – to try and buy this type of equipment. Only devices that have been proven to work so well. “
King’s office didn’t respond to questions about whether he intended to pursue laws that would fund these IVP devices in schools.
Perry said he had discussions with Governor Greg Abbott about the product, as well as Governor Ron DeSantis, R-Florida, and Governor Bill Lee, R-Tennessee.
“All of these governors have been criticized for their stance on masks … if that’s your position, that’s your calling and your condition,” Perry said. “But the point is, here is a device that has science and a year of testing in public schools in Texas to show that this is the right way to deal with it.”
IVP devices have been installed in more than 150 Texas K-12 campuses, including Galveston ISD and Fort Worth ISD. King said the equipment was donated to Slidell ISD, where the superintendent said the district had a “great experience” year-round.
“I can’t imagine going to school in our buildings last week without these machines,” said Taylor Williams, the superintendent of Slidell ISD. “The trust that it gave our teachers and our parents, especially now that this new variant affects the children a little differently.”
Monzer Hourani is the founder and inventor of IVP. Speakers noted that he was named “Engineer of the Year” by the Engineering News-Record in 2021 and that the American Society of Mechanical Engineers named IVP “The Only Airborne Solution to Combat COVID-19”.
When asked by reporters, Peel said the devices are not being proposed as an alternative to vaccines and masking.
“This is an extra layer of protection for vaccines, social distancing, and other CDC guidelines,” Peel said. “This is a protective layer that gives us a certain sense of security to lead a normal life again.”
IVP’s “Biodefence Indoor Air Protection System” has been approved for sale by the US Food and Drug Administration. The travel units cost just under $ 1,000, but the event units cost almost $ 14,000.
Referenced research speakers
Speakers at the press conference cited research studies with universities and tests in Texas schools as “evidence” that IVP air filters work. One of the studies – written by doctors at Texas A&M and the University of Houston medical colleges – was not specific to IVP’s filter devices. It was about evidence suggesting that COVID-19 can be airborne and because of this it said: “Increased technical and policy efforts need to be made to curb the spread of viral aerosols”.
The authors noted that there is still no final consensus on whether COVID-19 is transmitted through droplets or through the air.
“Although current airborne transmission findings need to be interpreted with caution, they should at least encourage the adoption of simple measures that can curb aerosol spread,” it said.
While the research study did not specifically examine or refer to IVP, the authors discussed “heat inactivation” as a way to eradicate aerosol transmission of COVID-19. This is one of the methods IVP executives use in their filtering devices.
The study was not reviewed.
[ad_2]
