The Wall Street Journal - 03.04.2020

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL. Friday, April 3, 2020 |R3

39.9”

Small

droplets

Large

droplets

AirborneDroplets

Surgicalmasksarehighly

effectiveagainstlarge

airbornedroplets.These

traditionalmasksareless

effectivewithsmall

droplets,assuchdroplets

cantravelfartherandin

unpredictablepaths

affectedbywindandother

gusts.Thedropletscanbe

inhaledaroundthesidesof

themasks.

MaskEffectiveness

Healthexpertssaythatproperlyused,the

N95respiratormaskcanguardagainstthe

newcoronavirus.Frequentlychanging

disposablemasks,andwashingyourhands

after,areimportantstepstoavoid

contaminationfrompathogensthatclingto

theoutersurface.ExpertssayN95masks

aredesignedforhealth-careworkersinthe

hospital,notthegeneralpublic.

PPEGowns

Thesethinpolymerrobesarenormally

allthatstandbetweenpatientswith

Covid-19andhealth-carepersonnel.

TheyarecertifiedbytheNational

InstituteforOccupationalSafety

andHealth. Ifahospitalrunsout

ofthesecertifiedgowns,the

CentersforDiseaseControl

andPrevention

recommendsusing

reusablepatientgowns. N95masksoffer

moreprotection.

Buttheyonlyworkif

theyfitproperly,and

aren’tsuitablefor

childrenorpeople

withfacialhair.

Surgicalmasksdon’t

offerfullprotection

againstairborneviruses.

Theydon’tfullysealoff

thenoseandmouth.

Nonsterileglovesare

recommendedforPPE.

Foraddedprotection,

twopairsofglovescan

beworn—onepairunder

PPEandonepairoverit.

Gloves

Afaceshieldisathinclearplastic

shieldsecuredwithavisor-like

device.Thismaynotstopyoufrom

contractingthecoronavirus,butit

willlessenthechances.Itisgoodat

blockingsprayedliquidsthatmay

containtherespiratorypathogen.

FaceShields

Scrubsarefabricor

fabric-blendclothing

wornbyhealth-care

personnelforon-the-job

useorinamanner

similartostreetclothes.

Mostscrubtopshave

shortsleeves,which

makesthemill-suitedfor

PPE,asPPEmustcover

thearmsdowntothe

wrists,toprotectthem

fromaerosols.Theycan

bewornunderPPEand

undergarments.

Scrubs

Fluid-resistantshoes

arerecommendedby

theCDC,butshoe

coverscanalsobe

wornforanadded

degreeofprotection.

Shoecoverswerein

useduringtheEbola

crisisin2014.

Shoes

Hoodswere

recommendedforEbola

virushealth-care

personnelin2014,but

notforCovid-19

health-careworkers.

Theycanbeusedfor

addedprotection.

PPEHoods

Sources:CDC,FDA,BMCInfectiousDiseases,JournalofHospitalInfection

Research:LindsayHuthTaylorUmlaufandKevinHand Graphic:KevinHandandAlbertoCervantes/THEWALLSTREETJOURNAL

PersonalProtectiveEquipment

Waginga

VirusWar

TheneedforPPEisgrowingwhilestockpilesareprecariouslylow.

Alookatwhatexactlyisneededtoprotectourhealth-care

personnelwhileall-importanttestingandtreatmenttakesplace.

SPECIAL REPORT |NAVIGATING THE CORONAVIRUS

JOSEPH PREZIOSO/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

How Regular People Can Help Fill

The Gap in Medical Supplies

If I have spare masks and

other supplies at home,

how do I donate them?

The American Medical Association rec-

ommends anyone who has personal pro-

tective equipment to contact their local

hospital or health department “to ensure

these resources are appropriate and can

be distributed based on need,” AMA

President Dr. Patrice Harris said.

You can also visitGetUsPPE.orgfor

instructions submitted by health-care

workers themselves, which include speci-

fications for items they need most, as

well as how to get those items to dona-

tion sites. The website is searchable by

region and state.

If you have supplies to donate, but

you aren’t able to get them to a donation

site yourself, you can fill out a form at

GetUsPPE.org/giveto arrange pickup.

Can I donate

homemade masks?

Health-care professionals are mixed on the

efficacy of homemade face masks, and not

all hospitals and clinics accept them.

Nurses shouldn’t wear cloth masks

because they don’t afford significant pro-

tections, according to American Nurses

Association President Ernest Grant.

Some doctors, however, encourage

people who have the means to sew their

own face masks to do so anyway. “Any

face mask is better than no face

mask,” says Esther Choo, a Portland,

Ore., emergency physician who

started the trending hashtag

#GetMePPE. Dr. Choo sug-

gests members of the public

check their local hospitals or

clinics about their individual

policies toward donations of

homemade mask donations.

Another idea is to keep

the homemade face masks

for yourself and donate any

supply you may have of medi-

cal-grade masks to your local

hospital, says Andy Shin, the Chi-

cago-based chief operating officer

of the American Hospital Associa-

tion’s Center for Health Innovation.

“There is literature out there that sup-

ports the use of homemade face masks,”

says Bryan Wolf, a Portland, Ore., radiolo-

gist who created a guide to making face

masks after noticing a need in his com-

munity.

Even if hospitals don’t accept dona-

tions of homemade face masks, Dr. Wolf

recommends making them for workers

at health-care facilities who might not

have ac-

cess to hospital-approved PPE, like hospi-

tal receptionists and janitorial staff.

“I think some people are forgotten,” he

says.

People interested in Dr. Wolf’s guide for

homemade face masks and face shields,

with additional background information,

can find it athttps://bit.ly/33WXX6i.

How can I help if I own a

manufacturing business?

The Food and Drug Administration has re-

leased new guidance that allows for

more manufacturers to make ventila-

tors. If you currently manufacture

ventilators or want to begin, you

can read their guidance athttps://

bit.ly/2Ut7IWJ.

Some states, like New York, are

encouraging companies with the

proper equipment or personnel to

begin to manufacture PPE. New

York’s guidelines can be found at

https://on.ny.gov/2UJ05KS.

The American Hospital Associa-

tion has also put out a call for manu-

facturers to help their local hospitals

produce surgical masks and face shields.

More information can be found athttps://

bit.ly/3dGP7hG.

—Michelle Ma