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In “World Health Network joins in the chorus: Medical masks are not PPE,” the authors underline a critical safety message for healthcare settings: medical (surgical) masks are not classified as personal protective equipment (PPE) for respiratory hazards and should not be treated as substitutes for professionally-fitted respirators.
Key points
| Many healthcare and public – health communications during the COVID-19 pandemic conflated surgical/medical masks with respirators – despite major differences in design, protection level and regulatory classification. |
| Surgical/medical masks provide limited protection, mostly intended for source control (containment of droplets), not for protecting the wearer against airborne hazards. |
| True respiratory PPE (e.g., FFP2/FFP3, N95/N99) must be fit-tested and validated; without fit testing and the correct respirator class, the wearer remains at significant risk in airborne hazard scenarios. |
| The article urges employers and health-care organisations to update their PPE policies, ensuring that respirators – not just surgical masks – are provided where airborne transmission is plausible, alongside proper fit testing and training. |
DESMOND WHYMS says:
agree 100%
WHO – World Health Assembly, various Public Health and IPC bodies need to press for a shift away from baggy-blues
please see: https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj.r2638/rapid-responses