Anyone planning to buy face masks to combat the outbreak of the coronavirus should purchase them now if they can. On Tuesday, an official from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention warned it is only a matter of time before the deadly disease makes it to the U.S., reported The Washington Post.
Older people and people with pre-existing medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease appear to be more vulnerable to becoming severely ill with the coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. African Americans have higher rates of diabetes and asthma. For example, African Americans are 60-percent more likely to have diabetes. More than 2.6 million African Americans have asthma and African Americans are three times more likely to die from asthma-related causes than the U.S. white population.
“Ultimately, we expect we will see community spread in the U.S. It’s not a question of if this will happen, but when this will happen, and how many people in this country will have severe illnesses,” said Nancy Messonnier, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC.
There have been spikes in cases in Europe, South Korea, Italy, Iran and Brazil also reported a case, making it the first one in Latin America, according to the Post.
Because of this, hospitals and retailers alike are running out of face masks. While people are purchasing other types of face masks, the N95 masks and surgical face masks are the ones hospitals and other medical facilities use.
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While surgical masks “keep out the liquid of another infected person’s sneeze or cough from entering your mouth or nose,” they are not effective at blocking airborne illnesses, according to CNET. The N95 respirator masks are the ones “which filter out 95 percent of all airborne particles,” the Post reported.
U.S. health officials asked Congress for $2.5 billion to buy 270 million more masks, the amount they say they will need to combat the outbreak, the New York Post reported.
Actress
Busy Phillips said in an Instagram
post that she went to three different pharmacies to try and buy a face
mask, but they were all sold out. The masks are trending as a best-selling item
on Amazon and Walmart
was recently sold out of them online.
Despite the demand for the masks, some experts say wearing them may not be effective in preventing people from becoming infected with the disease.
On the CDC webpage that addresses the coronavirus (also known as COVID-19), it states that the “CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a face mask to protect themselves from respiratory illnesses, including COVID-19. You should only wear a mask if a healthcare professional recommends it. A face mask should be used by people who have COVID-19 and are showing symptoms. This is to protect others from the risk of getting infected.”
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As stated before, the CDC does believe wearing a N95 mask may help prevent the spread of the epidemic if worn by those who are already infected.
Dr. Robert Amler is Dean of New York Medical College’s School of Health Sciences and former chief medical officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He echoed the CDC’s words about the masks.
“Face masks, like those used in surgery, are not designed to protect people who wear them, but instead keep their own droplets, when they cough or (spit), from landing on others,” Amler told Shape.
Amler recommends people wash hands frequently and avoid close contact with people who are coughing to fight against contracting the coronavirus.
