Violet Affleck Urges COVID Protections at U.N.

Violet Affleck, 19, the eldest daughter of Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner and a Yale student, spoke at the U.N. "Healthy Indoor Air: A Global Call to Action" event on Sept. 23 urging governments to restore mask policies and treat filtered indoor air as basic infrastructure. Wearing a KN95, she cited her own long‑COVID experience and warned that SARS‑CoV‑2 is airborne and that each infection raises the risk of long COVID, saying leaders' return‑to‑normal choices have harmed young people. She called for measures including mask availability, improved air filtration and far‑UVC lighting in public facilities and compared access to clean air to access to clean water. Her remarks prompted social‑media backlash—most prominently from commentator Meghan McCain, who labeled her a 'nepo baby'—which sparked criticism of McCain and a broader debate over high‑profile young people advocating public health; media coverage ranged from sympathetic profiles to conservative questioning of celebrity advocates.