Face masks inadequate' and should be swapped for respirators, WHO advised

"Surgical face masks provide inadequate protection against flu-like illnesses including Covid, and should be replaced by respirator-level masks worn every time doctors and nurses are face to face with a patient, according to a group of experts urging changes to World Health Organization guidelines."

"At the height of the Covid pandemic an estimated 129bn disposable face masks were being used around the world every month, by the public and healthcare workers, with surgical masks the most widely available and recommended by most health authorities. Respirators designed to filter tiny particles such as masks meeting FFP2/3 standards in the UK or N95 in the US should instead be standard practice for medical interactions, they said."

"Prof Adam Finkel of the University of Michigan School of Public Health, one of the letter's organisers, said surgical masks were not designed to stop airborne pathogens but invented to stop doctors and nurses from sneezing into the guts and the hearts of patients. Surgical masks are to respirators what the typewriter was to the modern computer, said Finkel, who was chief regulatory official at the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration between 1995 an"

Surgical face masks provide inadequate protection against flu-like illnesses including Covid and offer poor defense against airborne pathogens. Respirator-level masks meeting FFP2/3 or N95 standards filter tiny particles and should be standard during every face-to-face medical interaction. Replacing surgical masks with respirators would reduce infections among patients and healthcare workers and decrease sickness, absence, and burnout in health workforces. At the pandemic peak, an estimated 129 billion disposable masks were used monthly, with surgical masks most common despite limited efficacy. Officials in many countries shifted recommendations toward respirators as evidence accumulated. There is little justification for permitting no face covering in healthcare settings.

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