To curtail the rapid spread of the Omicron variant across the country, the CDC has urged Americans to go for professional-grade masks used by health workers. The health authorities said that using N95 or KN95 masks can work better to stop the virus. Such masks are usually used only by healthcare workers as they are slightly expensive than the regular disposable or cloth masks available in the market.
CDC urges Americans To Use Professional-Grade Masks
The advantage of using such professional-grade masks is that they can filter the air in a better way in normal circumstances. When it comes to stopping the virus, they are more effective than cloth masks, and professional-grade masks also allow for better airflow when compared to regular ones. In this regard, there are no drawbacks to using such high-quality masks.
However, the CDC had initially asked the public to refrain from using such masks as the supply of such masks was not very high. In the initial days of the pandemic, even front-line health workers had to suffer from a shortage of professional-grade masks. Due to such reasons, the authorities wanted to ration such masks for health professionals and asked the public to go for regular masks.
The situation has changed a lot in the last few months as professional-grade masks are available in large quantity and the public can get better protection by using such masks. The professional-grade masks also fit better and offer better protection from the virus. It is important to understand that most people do not wear masks regularly as the fitting is not good, and they feel uncomfortable after using them for a few minutes.
The CDC also urged that the public can continue to use any mask available as something is better than nothing when it comes to preventing the Covid virus. The CDC had also suggested the use of disposable N95 masks for those who are at high risk. If someone in your family is quarantined at home or when you travel in crowded trains and buses regularly, it makes a lot of sense to use professional-grade disposable masks as they offer reliable protection than conventional masks.
Joe Biden made an interesting announcement recently that the government was making all efforts to provide the best quality masks for free in the near future. According to official data, the government had an inventory of more than 700 million professional-grade masks, and they plan to provide it to the public for free to mitigate the spread of the Omicron variant in the US.
As per the CDC guidelines, professional-grade masks that are exclusively used during surgeries like surgical N95 masks should not be made available to the public as such masks are needed for doctors during surgeries. Doctors use such masks as they protect against blood splashes during surgeries which protects the doctors from contracting infections. As the supply of such masks is not in large quantity, they need to be reserved for health professionals.
Apart from that, the common public does not need surgical-grade masks, and they can easily manage with the regular N95 masks that are available in the market. As of now, professional-grade masks are available at most supermarkets and pharmacies across the US. However, they are slightly more expensive than the regular masks. For this reason, many people prefer to use regular cloth masks or cheap disposable masks.
If the federal government can make arrangements to provide professional-grade masks for free to the public, it will go a long way in preventing the spread of the pandemic. This will also encourage more people to use masks in public places.
