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To help reduce the infection rate, the protective equipment worn by the front lines is generally worn once and then discarded. This is because putting on new equipment would be easier than having to clean and disinfect older equipment. However, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, we are seeing doctors and nurses undergo their PPE faster than ever.
This means that the PPE stock is running low, which can make it difficult for frontliners to do their job properly and safely. However, the good news is that the FDA recently approved the use of scuba gear, particularly the mask, as a form of protective equipment that can be used and reused by borderline members who need it.
This is thanks to bioengineering professor Manu Prakash, who after coming home from vacation developed a cough. While negative for the COVID-19 virus, Prakash decided to quarantine for the next two weeks just to be safe. During those two weeks, he also explored the idea of wearing a scuba mask as a possible face shield that could be used by frontliners in combination with a medical-grade filter.
The mask was tested by Prakash and his team, where they later presented it to the FDA, where it has since been approved for labeling as a face mask or surgical mask. The FDA is still investigating whether or not this could be used as a substitute or alternative to the N95 respirator, but for now, it can be used as a regular face mask or mask.
The idea of reusable masks is one that is being actively explored. For example, in Taiwan, the country’s FDA showed how masks can be disinfected using a rice cooker while in the US. In the USA, a husband and wife team devised a decontamination method that is now being used in the US. USA To decontaminate and reuse N95 masks
Filed in . Read more about Coronavirus, Covid-19, Fda and Health. Source: washingtonpost
