Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
White House To Provide Free 'High-Quality' N95 Masks To The Public
CNBC: Biden Says U.S. To Provide High-Quality Masks For Free To Americans
President Joe Biden on Thursday said the U.S. will give high-quality masks to Americans for free, as new infections from the Covid-19 omicron variant soar across the country. Biden said the U.S. has more than tripled the national stockpile of highly protective N95 masks to make sure they are widely available to the general public. He said masks are a crucial tool to help control the spread of omicron. (Kimball, 1/13)
More on N95 and KN95 masks —
The Washington Post: How To Reuse And Safely Store KN95 And N95 Masks
Health experts say while there are no hard and fast rules, there are best practices for safely getting multiple uses out of N95s or KN95s. “In the ideal world — or pre-pandemic — many masks were really viewed as single-use,” said Michael G. Knight, an assistant professor of medicine at George Washington University. “The reality is they do have a little bit more length in the amount of time we can use them.” (Firozi and Chiu, 1/13)
CNN: How Long Can You Wear An N95 Mask, And Other Care Tips
You're ready to swap your old cloth masks for N95s as some experts recommend, but the higher price tag and two little words -- "single use" -- are giving you pause. How long can you really wear an N95 and still protect yourself and others from Covid-19 risk? "I wear mine for a week," said Linsey Marr, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech. An N95 mask's material and filtration ability aren't "going to degrade unless you physically rub it or poke holes in it," Marr said. "You'd have to be in really polluted air ... for several days before it lost its ability to filter out particles. So, you can really wear them for a long time. (Rogers, 1/13)
NBC Chicago: How Can You Avoid Counterfeit N95, KN95 Masks? CDC Provides Tips
According to the CDC, more than 60% of the KN95 masks that are on the market in the United States are counterfeit, and Americans have reported similar issues with the more-protective N95 masks, which are regulated and approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). So just how are Americans supposed to protect themselves from counterfeit face coverings? According to the CDC, the tips vary by the type of facial covering that a person is seeking out. (1/13)
In other mask news —
The Baltimore Sun: Maryland To Give Out 20 Million N95 And KN95 Masks
As the highly contagious omicron variant of the coronavirus continues to sweep across Maryland, the state plans to hand out 20 million of the often hard-to-find N95 and KN95 masks, Gov. Larry Hogan announced Thursday. Speaking outside a hospital in Easton where a testing site is being set up, Hogan stressed that wearing a well-fitted, high-quality mask is key component to slowing the spread of the virus. But he stopped short of restoring a statewide requirement to wear a mask indoors. (Wood, 1/13)
San Francisco Chronicle: Restaurateur Donates 10,000 KN95 Masks To Help Oakland Schools In A ‘Very Tough Bind’
When restaurateur Eugene Lee learned that Oakland students had created an online petition last week demanding school district officials provide KN95 masks to help protect all pupils during the omicron surge, he sprang into action. Lee, whose restaurant Noodle Belly is opening Saturday in Oakland’s Fruitvale district, reached out to Mayor Libby Schaaf, who put him in touch with Oakland Unified School District officials. This week, he donated 10,000 KN95 masks to the district and another 15,000 to the city for emergency workers. (Flores, 1/13)
Daily Mail Online: Wearing A Facemask Makes You More Attractive To The Opposite Sex, Study Finds
People wearing face masks are deemed to be more attractive than when they have nothing covering their faces, according to a new study. Face masks have become a common sight around Britain in response to the global Covid pandemic. And Cardiff University researchers claim that the masks make both men and women more appealing on the eye. (Baker, 1/13)
