Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Double Up On Masking For 92.5% Protection, CDC Finds
CNN: Double Masking Can Block 92% Of Infectious Particles, CDC Says
Double masking can significantly improve protection, new data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows. Researchers found that layering a cloth mask over a medical procedural mask, such as a disposable blue surgical mask, can block 92.5% of potentially infectious particles from escaping by creating a tighter fit and eliminating leakage. (Enriquez, 2/10)
ABC News: What CDC Found About Wearing 2 Masks
Fit matters when it comes to your mask protecting you against the virus that causes COVID-19, and layering a well-fitting cloth mask over a surgical mask is likely to prove beneficial, according to new findings released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Flaherty, 2/10)
The New York Times: Can’t Find An N95 Mask? This Company Has 30 Million That It Can’t Sell.
A year into the pandemic, the disposable, virus-filtering N95 mask remains a coveted piece of protective gear. Continuing shortages have forced doctors and nurses to reuse their N95s, and ordinary Americans have scoured the internet — mostly in vain — to get them. But Luis Arguello Jr. has plenty of N95s for sale — 30 million of them, in fact, which his family-run business, DemeTech, manufactured in its factories in Miami. He simply can’t find buyers. (Jacobs, 2/10)
The Verge: The CDC Hopes Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, And Neo Can Actually Convince People To Wear Masks
Wearing a mask is one of the easiest things individual people can do to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is partnering with WarnerMedia in the hopes that fan-favorite characters like Harry Potter, Wonder Woman, the Joker, and Imperator Furiosa can convince people to mask up. (Gartenberg, 2/10)
And the government is investigating counterfeit N95 respirators —
AP: Government Investigating Massive Counterfeit N95 Mask Scam
Federal authorities are investigating a massive counterfeit N95 mask operation in which fake 3M masks were sold in at least five states to hospitals, medical facilities and government agencies. The foreign-made knockoffs are becoming increasingly difficult to spot and could put health care workers at grave risk for the coronavirus. These masks are giving first responders “a false sense of security,” said Steve Francis, assistant director for global trade investigations with the Homeland Security Department’s principal investigative arm. He added, “We’ve seen a lot of fraud and other illegal activity.” (Long, 2/10)
KHN: Health Workers And Hospitals Grapple With Millions Of Counterfeit N95 Masks
Thousands of counterfeit 3M respirators have slipped past U.S. investigators in recent months, making it to the cheeks and chins of health care workers and perplexing experts who say their quality is not vastly inferior to the real thing. N95 masks are prized for their ability to filter out 95% of the minuscule particles that can carry covid-19. Yet the fakes pouring into the country have fooled health care leaders from coast to coast. As many as 1.9 million counterfeit 3M masks made their way to about 40 hospitals in Washington state, according to the state hospital association, spurring officials to alert staff members and pull them off the shelf. The elite Cleveland Clinic recently conceded that, since November, it had inadvertently distributed 3M counterfeits to hospital staffers. A Minnesota hospital made a similar admission. (Jewett, 2/11)
