N95 – Don’t Use More Than 2 Days

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

New research presented online at the meeting of American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) 2020, has found that nearly 50% of N95 masks fail to work when reused for more than 2 days. Dr. Ronald Check of St. Luke’s University Hospital, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania who presented the study said “N95 respirators used past day 2 had significant failure rates.” Lack of …

N95 Style Mask Testing Program

Angie SzumlinskiHealth

Although HealthCap does not endorse any product or service, this information may be helpful to you so we wanted to share it. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, N95 respirator masks are in short supply and many providers purchase this critical PPE item from non-traditional international suppliers without insight to product quality. However, using imported N95-style masks without NIOSH certification or …

Unmasking the Mask

Angie SzumlinskiHealth

In a recent video/transcript published in Medscape on August 16, 2020, Dr. Mark Lewis, MD discussed the many myths surrounding the use of facemasks. The link to the video is below and here are a few of the “tidbits” Dr. Lewis shared: Misinformation and Talking Points Efficacy. It is true that masks are not 100% effective however there is little …

Mask Mandates – Unknown Social and Behavioral Consequences?

Angie SzumlinskiStudies

Recommendations to wear non-medical face masks to control the spread of COVID-19 vary widely and have changed over time. At the beginning of the pandemic, some countries advised against wearing masks, partly because the supply of highly protective medical N95 masks was too low. In June 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) changed their recommendations and now recommends that healthy …

Respirator Mask

To Mask or Not To Mask

Angie SzumlinskiHealth

As more states introduce universal mask requirements, there are a lot of questions on the efficacy of masks and the inconvenience of masking. When the United States first identified the risk of pandemic last winter, national experts indicated that masks were not effective. Today, however, the experts support mask mandates as a means to control the spread of infection. The …