Harley L-188 N95 Folding Mask for $1.99 each at WellBefore

While N95s are designed to be disposed of after every use, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has developed contingency strategies for what it calls “expected shortage” and “known shortage” situations.

Note that “CDC recommends reserving N95s for use in the occupational setting, especially the healthcare sector, where they are most needed,” according to email correspondence with a spokesperson. This advice contradicts that of Harvard Health Professor Joseph G. Allen, who wrote in the Washington Post that all Americans should be wearing N95s, as well as the opinion of mask manufacturers who are sitting on warehouses full of unused N95 masks.

Harley L-188 N95 Folding Mask for $1.99 each at WellBefore

Read this article to determine if a N95 mask is right for you and your family

Under normal conditions, an N95 mask is designed to be disposed of after every use, be that interacting with a patient or visiting a grocery store. Due to the shortages and generally high prices of face masks, that approach is not always effective during a pandemic.

The CDC’s recommendations for healthcare workers during shortages include:

A timely study, conducted by Dr. Pascal Juang and published in April of 2020, determined the following about mask cleaning:

The study found that using soap and water was ineffective.

Joshua Sargent is the Senior News Editor, Commerce, for Hearst Newspapers. Before this job he wrote video games and comedy, which probably just made you say "ah, yeah, that makes sense."

Josh can play the guitar solo from Steely Dan's "Kid Charlemagne" almost exactly right and lives in Brooklyn, NY with a cat that "belongs" to him according to the "law."

Email him at josh.sargent@hearst.com.