Face mask shortage prompts CDC to loosen coronavirus guidance

[UpInArms]

Source: Washington Post via MSN

A shortage of specialized masks has prompted federal health officials to loosen their recommendations on the face protection that front line health-care workers should use to prevent infection from the highly contagious disease caused by the novel coronavirus.

Instead of recommending that health-care workers use specialized masks known as N95 respirators, which filter out about 95 percent of airborne particles, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention posted new guidelines Tuesday that said “the supply chain of respirators cannot meet demand” and that looser fitting surgical face masks “are an acceptable alternative."

The more commonly worn surgical masks will limit — but not eliminate — the chance of inhaling large, infectious particles circulating near the face. Until Tuesday, the CDC had recommended that health-care workers interacting with coronavirus patients or suspected cases wear N95 respirators, along with gowns, gloves and eye protectors. The N95 filters must be custom-fitted and cost more than surgical masks.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/face-mask-shortage-prompts-cdc-to-loosen-coronavirus-guidance/ar-BB110OpU

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This is very stupid and dangerous

[OhioChick]

1. My kids were fitted for N95 respirators

I'm not sure if they've gotten them yet, so they're told to wear surgical masks, which is a joke.

I saw this coming months ago and bought N95's on my own so "they" would have "some" protection. (even though off the shelf N95's aren't custom fit)

Who the hell are going to treat all the sick when the doctors and nurses are sick?

The handling of this entire situation is the biggest clusterfuck I've ever seen in my existence.

[UpInArms]

2. I am hating watching this train wreck

[OhioChick]

3. It's truly a shit show

When all is said and done, Trump is going to have a lot of blood on his hands.

[dewsgirl]

4. Smart. Everytime I see one of these videos with a nurse or

doctor wearing a surgical mask, knowing how this is spreading everywhere, I cringe.😬

[OhioChick]

5. They had to self quarantine 6 hospital employees here yesterday

6 UH staff under home quarantine after coming in close contact with COVID-19 patients

https://www.news5cleveland.com/news/continuing-coverage/coronavirus/6-uh-staff-under-home-quarantine-after-coming-in-close-contact-with-covid-19-patients

[dewsgirl]

6. I hope you and your children stay well, hang in there.😳

[OhioChick]

8. Thank you!

As a mother, I'm just so filled with worry.

[dewsgirl]

12. I can't imagine.

[OhioChick]

13. Thank you for your kindness

[Chemisse]

7. And it was only a week ago that my Ohio daughter said there were no cases there.

This is all moving so fast now. Exponentially, I fear.

[OhioChick]

9. My kids told me weeks ago that it was likely already here

It seems it's showing up nearly everywhere now.

I was told by a seasoned physician that there's no way to contain this now.

[Chemisse]

10. She was happily oblivious, which I knew at the time, since almost no testing was being done.

None of us can escape the reality now.

[OhioChick]

11. There are still quite a few here that think this is only the "flu" n/t

[SunSeeker]

14. My doctor today told me a patient stole a box of their face masks!

She said they had a box of face masks sitting on the reception counter to give to patients who were coughing in the waiting room and one of the patients walked off with it. It's nuts!

My doctor just had one of those paper masks, not an N95 mask. Scary.

[FailureToCommunicate]

15. I use N95 masks all the time in my construction work. There is no "custom fitting" other

than pinching the small metal tab over the bridge of your nose. A big issue seems to be manufacturer liability. The ones sold for non medical use -which are EXACTLY the same as medical use ones- are not officially listed for medical use. Liability for the manufacturer seems to be the only difference.

VP Pence has said the government is seeking to "extend temporary liability protections, so [N95] masks made for industrial use could be sold to hospital workers"

Many experts have said one of the main virtues of wearing a mask for anyone, health care workers included, is to minimize the times we touch our own faces ("self infect&quot

So ANY mask, even cheap paper dust masks would offer that benefit!

Just my two cents.

[KewlKat]

16. That statement... that looser fitting surgical face masks "are an acceptable alternative."

reminds me of the first responders, firemen, policemen, etc. that were told the NY City air was safe to breathe. Talk to the families of 911 fatalities and they’ll tell you how safe that was...DONT LISTEN TO THEM.

We need to find some mask no matter the price to help safeguard our medical community.

[Miguelito Loveless]

17. This hardly an "acceptable alternative"

it is a "desperate move".

[CountAllVotes]

18. There are no face masks available where I am located

I received a lovely message from TARGET.

They said they were here to help during this time if you need face masks, hand sanitizers, etc. and they sent the link to buy some.

I clicked on the link and searched.

All the items one might need right now are OUT OF STOCK.

Thanks for greed driven lies TARGET! I will never buy anything from TARGET again, that is for sure!

& recommend.

[rainbow4321]

19. And CDC is now saying no quarantine for exposed workers

If the exposure is “brief”. Oh, ok...yet this damn thing is spreading thru the country after “brief” exposure. All so staffing levels are don’t drop. So instead send exposed workers around the hospital/community/home with family?
Also, hospitals will no longer have to check workers for fever/respiratory issues.
So we can all pass out and die/overwork like the Chinese workers?

https://www.beckershospitalreview.com/public-health/healthcare-workers-exposed-to-coronavirus-get-new-cdc-guidelines.html

The updated guidelines advise that healthcare workers who have had low-risk exposure to the virus but are asymptomatic be allowed to continue to provide care if options to improve staffing have been exhausted at their organization. This decision should be made in consultation with the organization's occupational health program, the CDC stated.

Low-risk exposures generally refers to brief interactions with COVID-19 patients or longer contact with patients who were wearing a face mask while the healthcare worker also was wearing a face mask or respirator.

The CDC made several other updates to its guidelines, including removing a requirement that asks healthcare facilities to ensure clinicians with low-risk exposure to the virus do not have a fever or respiratory symptoms when reporting for work. It is now optional for facilities to verify absence of fever and respiratory symptoms among healthcare workers coming in to work.

The updated guidance also removes requirements for tracing the people an exposed healthcare worker might have come into contact with and conducting risk assessments for those workers. It acknowledges that "while contact tracing and risk assessment … remains the recommended strategy for identifying and reducing the risk of transmission of COVID-19 to [healthcare personnel], patients, and others, it is not practical or achievable in all situations."

[MerryBlooms]

21. So, the idiot's plan is to kill off our health professionals first?

Okay, someone in his administration needs to put the brakes on this sham of a president! Right Now!

[dalton99a]

20. Kick

The government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak in the United States has highlighted one of the country’s biggest gaps in preparedness for battling the respiratory virus that causes covid-19. The United States has about 1 percent of the 3.5 billion respirators that experts estimate the health-care system needs a year to fight a severe influenza pandemic. That translates to 12 million N95 respirators and 30 million surgical masks, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has said. An additional 5 million N95 respirators may be expired, he has said.

State and local officials rely on a federal stockpile, known as the Strategic National Stockpile, for public health emergencies. But the federal government has not maintained the more than 1,000 items at the fullest levels in the stockpile. Biodefense experts blame bureaucracy and a lack of funding. Experts have also disagreed on the best way to replenish items because many supplies, including masks, have limited shelf lives. N95 masks last between five to six years, experts say, before their elastic and fibers degrade.