A Tiny Hospital in Texas Might Help Solve the Mask Shortage

[LiberalArkie]

On the southeast side of San Antonio, Texas, a small hospital that faces a shopping mall on what used to be an air force base is suddenly fielding a flurry of calls about a possible solution to the N95 mask shortage.

There, at the Texas Center for Infectious Disease (TCID), staff receive a special mask on the first day of their orientation — it’s theirs to keep and maintain throughout the year. The mask, known as an elastomeric respirator, is made of durable plastic and has a facepiece that goes over the mouth and nose attached to two cartridge filters that attach on the left and right sides.

Over the last month, the coronavirus has wreaked havoc in the United States and caused massive shortages of the N95 respirator masks that health care workers rely on. Some hospital suppliers have reported delays of three to six months for these supplies. Prices of N95 masks have skyrocketed so much that one hospital CEO says that they are paying $7 for these masks rather than the typical cost of 58 cents. The shortage is so severe that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has gone so far as to say that staff at hospitals can wear bandanas in certain circumstances when mask supplies are low. So it’s perhaps no surprise that in recent weeks, TCID, which mainly treats people with tuberculosis, has fielded inquiries about its alternative approach from Maryland, Connecticut, Georgia, Canada, and more. “Word has just spread like wildfire about the things that we’re doing,” says Jessica Gutierrez-Rodriguez, TCID’s hospital administrator.


The durable masks given to hospital workers at TCID are called North 7700 respirators and they’re much more effective than N95 masks. Unlike N95 masks, which filter 95% of particles larger than 0.3 microns in diameter, the P100 cartridges used in the North 7700 masks at the Texas hospitals filter out 99.97% of particles. In fact, there is a strict policy against wearing N95s at the hospital unless you are a visitor.

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https://elemental.medium.com/a-tiny-hospital-in-texas-might-help-solve-the-mask-shortage-9ad3c0a7a861

[BamaRefugee]

1. Putin already told tRump to grab ALL OF THEM.

[Squinch]

2. I have one of those for home projects! They're hard to talk through and hot, but yes.

Can't beat them.

[hlthe2b]

4. Yes.. hot and this is a major issue with them.

[hlthe2b]

3. They were considered for the National Stockpile but not included because of the amount of training

required to use them, the filters have to be replaced fairly frequently and the risk of heat exhaustion/heat stroke. That said, Tom Frieden (former CDC Director) questioned that decision and given they can be readily disinfected, I agree with him that they should have. The decision was to include as many PAPRs as possible (self contained powered air supplying full face masks as they can allow for longer term wearing without the higher risk of heat stroke)

Yes, they can be an alternative to N95, but they aren't cheap either and are undoubtedly going to face shortages as well.

[stopdiggin]

5. your final sentence

This would be great if there were anywhere near enough of them around to make a difference. There aren't. And they're really more suited, and should be prioritized, to serious quarantine environments.

[LisaL]

6. You only need one, though, as they are not disposable.

While N95 masks are supposed to be disposable so you need a bunch. So in the end you wouldn't need as many of them as N95 masks.

[stopdiggin]

7. hey, if you can make a dent in the shortage

or even serve your own requirements and needs ... Go for it!

[sl8]

8. You still need replacement filter cartridges. They're disposable. n/t

[LisaL]

9. You don't need to change them every day.