A new public service campaign, developed in partnership with the Dorney-Koppel Foundation, the COPD Foundation and the American Respiratory Foundation, began airing on ABC, NBC, CBS and CNN June 8th. The COPD SOS campaign focuses on identifying the “missing millions,” who have COPD but don’t yet know it. The number of Americans with COPD is estimated at 30 million. It’s an estimate because roughly half that number remain undiagnosed. As the nation focuses on getting as many Americans as possible vaccinated against COVID, those with COPD are particularly vulnerable. COPD doubles the risk of COVID-related hospitalization and death.

Ever since her diagnosis in 2001, Grace Anne Dorney Koppel has been a voice for those with COPD. She and her husband, broadcast journalist Ted Koppel, created the Dorney-Koppel Foundation to bring attention to this devastating disease and to lead the charge in the fight against it.

What’s more, research for this devastating disease has been vastly underfunded. Even though it’s the #3 killer among chronic diseases, it’s 176th in federal funding, meaning only pennies are being spent on every person with COPD.*

*Sources: Centers for Disease Control; National Institutes of Health.