Alternative to the N95 mask the FDA refuses to allow it in

As hospitals around the country desperately seek N95 respirator masks to protect health care workers treating COVID-19 patients, the federal government has blocked imports of what might be the world’s most abundant alternative.

That mask is designed to filter out at least 95% of particles that are 0.3 microns or larger in size — the same measure used for the scarce N95 mask. Like the N95, it fits closely around the nose and mouth, creating a seal that decreases the risk of infection. And the Centers for Disease Control has said it’s as effective as N95, which is certified under US testing standards. But this second type of mask, called the KN95, complies with slightly different norms and is made in factories that have not been certified by the US government.

By law, masks, along with most medical devices, can’t be imported or sold in the United States without the Food and Drug Administration’s say-so. Last week, to ease the national shortfall of protective gear, the FDA issued an emergency authorization for non-N95 respirators that had been certified by five foreign countries as well as the European Union. It conspicuously left the KN95 masks out of the emergency authorization.

Even Chinese Airlines protect their staff...

better than U.S. hospitals do!


?

This reminds me of something I read about military triage

Physiological triage tools identify patients in categories:
(1) those needing immediate lifesaving interventions;
(2) those who need significant intervention that can be delayed;
(3) those who are so severely ill or injured that survival is unlikely despite major interventions.

Such hard, hard decisions.
My husband worked with burn surgeons in Maryland who were sometimes faced with such unbearable life and death decisions as described above. It's heartbreaking.


And speaking of keeping health care folks safe, they could use the equipment that these ChineseAir hostesses have...Wish we could order from them (& not be ripped off).
They can have these on airlines but the U.S. can't secure enough to save doctors' & nurses' lives here!!!!

?

They truly are!

Btw, re: my handle, "Duppers"...
I usually called our first yellow Lab by her nickname, "Puppers," which quickly morphed into Duppers.
She was a better person than I am, so I really don't deserve to use her name...but do so just in remembrance of her.

Dogs are THE BEST!! 💕

I'm so sorry. However,...

She could likely has infected many other people on that plane, in the airports, or in any transportation she used. And she may have contracted the virus from any of those.

Sending good wishes for HER full recovery. Keep us posted!



My overly optimistic millennial son flew to Colombia for 2 weeks after the first cases were reported in the U.S. He did so over my objections. I ck for cases in Colombia & there were none but I thought about the airports and planes themselves. He flew back the last of Feb & has been in good health & is now taking CV19 very seriously, hibernating in Brooklyn.

She said, "Trump's lying IS COSTING LIVES"

Bold but factual statements.

She signed off in tears for Larry Edgeworth, a 25-year veteran of the news division, who died yesterday of CV-19.

I'm sure the PutinLump doesn't listen to her and if any staff were to dare tell him, they'd catch hell. He kills messengers.

🚩"It's costing lives" - Rachel Maddow

Just now saying that Trump is telling lies in his press briefings and that they should stop broadcasting them.

First responders still can't buy masks- even after Congress passed $8.3 billion in emergency funding

Source: RawStory

This month, Congress passed an $8.3 billion emergency bill to respond to the coronavirus crisis. The money goes toward developing vaccines, disease surveillance, disaster loans and much more. But none of it goes directly to first responders for the protective gear and supplies they need to safely combat the novel coronavirus.

Last week, ProPublica reported that firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians on the front lines are desperate for such equipment. Some EMTs are begging for masks at local hospitals. Others are rationing gowns and face shields.

The Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act, which became law March 6, only invests $10 million for “training” of first responders, money they will have to share with hospital employees and other health care workers.
“I think we know how to put our protective gear on,” said Gary Ludwig, chief of the Champaign Fire Department in Illinois, calling that part of the bill “ridiculous.”

Haydon Pitchford, an EMT in Central Virginia, has been searching for the N-95 masks that are recommended to protect against the novel coronavirus. He called the money a “paltry sum” devoted to the wrong purpose. “One would assume we’d need protective equipment for that training to be useful,” he said.


Read more: https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/first-responders-still-cant-buy-masks-even-after-congress-passed-8-3-billion-in-emergency-coronavirus-funding/

😅

Sounds like a conversation I would have with my 2 sublings (misspelling purposeful).

I just tweeted to him: "If a Democrat had ...

Told half the lies and done half the incompetence crap you've done, he/she would have already been impeached...voted out by both parties, you self-aggrandizing prick.