Sunday, May 3, 2020

The N95 Debacle. Hospitals refuse to allow staff to wear their own personal N95 masks, presumably to cover their incompetent stocking practices, despite high rates of healthcare worker infections/ Scientific American

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/widely-used-surgical-masks-are-putting-health-care-workers-at-serious-risk/

With medical supplies in high demand, federal authorities say health workers can wear surgical masks for protection while treating COVID-19 patients—but growing evidence suggests the practice is putting workers in jeopardy.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently said lower-grade surgical masks are “an acceptable alternative” to N95 masks unless workers are performing an intubation or another procedure on a COVID patient that could unleash a high volume of virus particles.
But scholars, nonprofit leaders and former regulators in the specialized field of occupational safety say relying on surgical masks—which are considerably less protective than N95 respirators—is almost certainly fueling illness among front-line health workers, who likely make up about 11% of all known COVID-19 cases.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that that’s one of the reasons that so many health care workers are getting sick and many are dying,” said Jonathan Rosen, a health and safety expert who advises unions, states and the federal government.
As of April 23, more than 21,800 health care workers had gotten the coronavirus and 71 had died, according to a House Education and Labor Committee staffer briefed by the CDC.
The CDC’s advice contrasts with another CDC webpage that says a surgical mask does “NOT provide the wearer with a reliable level of protection from inhaling smaller airborne particles and is not considered respiratory protection.”
Put simply, in worker safety, “a surgical mask is not PPE,” or personal protective equipment, said Amber Mitchell, president and executive director of the International Safety Center and immediate past chair of the occupational health and safety section of the American Public Health Association.
The allowance for surgical masks made more sense when scientists initially thought the virus was spread by large droplets. But a growing body of research shows it’s spread by minuscule viral particles that can linger in the air as long as 16 hours...

1 comment:

  1. we really dodged a bullet when we elected the fragile dipshit who melted straight the :#€] down threw a post-midnight twitter tantrum after he saw a video he didn't like, because a woman would have been too emotional to be president

    Legalized Murder USA Get back to work we have no PPE for ya, we have no tests for ya, you've got no healthcare or sick time, but we want to work you to DEATH for low wages & we won't be held liable for any of it!
    GOP The Dynasty of Death! NECROPOLITICS

    "the curve is flattened, I can go out" equals my descent has slowed down, I can remove this parachute

    @TheRichardLewis May 1
    White House blocking Fauci from testifying before Congress about coronavirus response
    The virus and Trump are both killing Americans.

    Let alone da Trillions Cronies free for all Billionaires billions in crisis good for billionaires.
    https://mobile.twitter.com/RobertKennedyJr/status/1255996879277633538

    Henry Winkler @hwinkler4real May 3
    THANK YOU to our mail carriers and mail truck drivers and all of you postal workers behind the desk that guide our letter and packages on their way daily ,,THANK YOU ‪@USPS‬

    NBA
    The Lakers Are Worth Over $3 Billion. Why Did They Get A 'Small Business' Bailout? And Why Did They Even Apply?

    GLOBAL PANDEMIC
    Imagine An Entire Super Bowl Crowd Dying. Jared Kushner Calls That 'A Great Success'

    MLB
    Grim Reaper McConnell Wants Baseball Back For One Reason: Ass-Covering

    GLOBAL PANDEMIC
    Trump’s Head Explodes As Fauci Says Sports ‘May Have To Skip A Year’

    Normalcy Can Both Get The Hell Out Of Here Sports News Used To Be An Escapist Haven. Now It's A Frustrating, Incoherent Mess Like The Rest Of The World

    Germany Bans Fun For Six More Months

    No Opening Day, No Sports...My Center Won't Hold

    You Know What's More Stupid Than Trump Saying The World Will Be Back To Normal In Three Weeks? Listening To Him

    The Nets Getting Coronavirus Tests Shows Just How Screwed Up Our Society Is

    The World Might Be Coming To An End, But Here Are The Places You Can Still Bet On Sports

    And there off and running
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNiyB2iOpSQ

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