They fear that surgical masks put vulnerable people at higher risk of catching Covid-19. Studies show that N95s, which seal tighter to the face, offer better protection against airborne viruses. For more than a year, many have called on the Biden administration to change its guidance to offer more protection inside hospitals, even as case counts decline.
Patients across the country say they are often told to replace their N95s with surgical masks. A woman said she was told her mask could be carrying Covid. Visitors are asked to cover their masks with a surgical mask provided by the hospital for quality control. Doctors and nurses in hospitals often wear surgical masks when treating patients, in line with CDC recommendations.
It's baffling, and the CDC has been on the wrong side of it.
There are concerns that the United States is on the verge of a spring surge as Covid cases in China, Hong Kong and across Europe spike.
The CDC and the White House's Covid response team have argued that even in hospitals, surgical masks provide enough protection. The public can wear cloth masks if they want to stop Covid transmission, but the CDC recommends N95s for everyone.
Emanuel said that his daughter was asked to have a surgical mask replaced when she went for a checkup. The quality of the mask she was wearing was worse than the high quality that the facility cited.
The facility told POLITICO that it follows CDC guidance, and in late January started allowing patients to keep wearing N95s as long as they layer a hospital-supplied surgical mask on top. The hospital's associate infection control head said that the hospital's staff wear surgical masks alone and that they are effective against Covid. She said that the hospital doesn't provide N95s because they are more uncomfortable.
While daily infections are down 95 percent from their January peak, Covid-19 can still be deadly for the elderly, vulnerable or immunocompromised patients who find themselves in the hospital. Long Covid, an array of barely understood, potentially disabling medical conditions that can last for months to years, can be caused by infections of healthy people.
The CDC has been years behind on the science.
An analysis by POLITICO found that more than 3000 patients were affected by Covid in January.
The lack of protective face masks contributed to the grim totals, according to an infectious disease specialist who advises the Biden administration.
The CDC should recommend N95s for all workers, according to a letter written by the CDC Director Rochelle Walensky.
He said no one responded.
The administration has been urged to recommend N95s for use in indoor public places by advocates for those with disabilities. The CDC acknowledged in January that cloth masks provide less protection than surgical masks. The CDC released new guidance last week that removed any mask recommendation for 98 percent of the country.
Emanuel is one of the infectious disease experts who released a road map this month. The quality of masks that Americans wear is one of the recommendations in the report. Research shows that N95s provide several hours more protection against Covid-19 than cloth and surgical masks.
The CDC waited until January to tell Americans they could use N95s without hurting the health workers who need them after the supply crisis for the masks ended.
One of the advisers to the administration said that the CDC has been years behind on science.
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