Is it time to switch over to the N95 mask? Experts have begun to push the medical-grade mask as the coronavirus continues to surge across the nation with new variants swirling about as well.
What’s going on?
Joseph G. Allen, the director of the Healthy Buildings program at Harvard University , recently wrote in an opinion piece for The Washington Post that there is ”no reason any essential worker — and really, everyone in the country — should go without masks that filter 95%.”
- He said people could protect themselves greatly if they wore N95s. In fact, he said two people who wore N95 masks would create “greater than 99% reduction in exposure.”
- “Think about that for a minute. We could reduce exposure by 99% for what should be $1 a mask. (Prices are higher now because of the failure to produce an adequate supply.) Throw in better ventilation and some distance between people, and you have hospital-grade protections,” he wrote.
Context
Allen’s comments come amid questions about whether or not Americans should be wearing double masks right now to avoid the variants.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, a White House advisor to the coronavirus pandemic, said on the “Today” show that double-masking or wearing N95 masks have become more popular, and they’re never a bad idea.
- “So if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective,” Fauci told the “Today” show. “That’s the reason why you see people either double masking or doing a version of an N95.”
The problem
The supply of N95 masks remains limited among retailers, according to NPR. In fact, hospital workers have been asked to ration out their N95s and reuse them if necessary.
- “Global demand continues to outpace production,” Nancy Foster, vice president of quality and patient safety at the American Hospital Association, told NPR.
Due to the short supply, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, “N-95 respirators should not be used (by the general public) because they should be conserved for health care personnel.”