Patients, visitors are being asked to forego N95s for surgical masks

Editor's Note

According to a March 16 Politico article, titled “Some hospitals ask patients, visitors to remove N95s, citing CDC,” some US hospitals are asking patients and visitors to swap their N95 masks with surgical masks or wear a surgical mask over the N95, Becker’s Hospital Review reports.

The staff and administrators at the hospitals in question claim they are following guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); and while they are indeed conforming to current guidance, most public health experts and advocates say the guidelines are outdated given the fear that surgical masks are not as efficient against airborne transmission as other masks. Studies show that N95 masks, because they seal tighter around the face, provide better protection against infection.

"It's baffling," Ezekiel Emanuel, MD, PhD, told Politico. "This is something where the CDC has been on the wrong side for a long time."

According to Politico, another reason why many hospitals are asking patients to replace or cover the masks they walked in wearing with a surgical mask supplied by the facility is “quality control.” Even clinicians in said hospitals are wearing only surgical masks when providing care, causing concern in some of the patients they treat.

Many have urged the CDC and the Biden administration to update mask-wearing guidance for more protection inside hospitals. The authorities have previously said “surgical masks offer sufficient protection against the virus in many situations within hospitals,” the article concludes.