FDA, CDC increase access to respirators during COVID-19 outbreak

Editor's Note

The Food & Drug Administration (FDA) on March 2 announced that it had joined with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to make more respirators, including certain N95s, available to healthcare personnel during the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

Currently, the majority of respirators are used in industrial settings.

This action by the FDA and CDC allows certain National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approved respirators not currently regulated by the FDA to be used in healthcare settings by healthcare personnel.