Project N95 delivers petition from patients who demand HICPAC issue strong infection prevention guidelines to protect the lives of patients & healthcare workers

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK, USA, November 1, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- National non-profit Project N95 today delivered a petition with signatures of hundreds of patients across the country who are demanding that the CDC’s Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee (HICPAC) issue guidelines with strong infection prevention measures to protect the lives of patients and healthcare workers. Project N95 urges HICPAC to recommend healthcare workers to wear highly protective N95s instead of “surgical masks” or so called “baggy blues” -- which have been repeatedly demonstrated as ineffective in protecting against aerosol transmissible diseases.

HICPAC is due to finalize new, likely weaker, guidelines designed to protect healthcare workers and the public - CDC’s Isolation Precautions: Preventing Transmission of Infectious Agents in Healthcare Settings - before its meeting taking place November 2-3rd. HICPAC has formulated its guidelines in private, without appropriate stakeholders, and without the relevant, available scientific evidence.

“At Project N95, our mission is to increase access to life-saving respiratory protection for those who need it most. Every single day we help vulnerable people who spend far more time in hospitals and at doctors’ offices. And while for the average vaccinated American, the risk from COVID might be relatively small, simple activities like going for a check-up, can be a life or death decision for older patients, or those with immune system disorders, Long COVID, and any number of vulnerabilities,” said Anne Miller, Executive Director of Project N95. Furthermore, none of us are free from risk of developing Long COVID as even mild COVID infections can result in long COVID.

Miller is set to testify at the HICPAC meeting on Friday, November 3.

Of particular concern, despite the learnings of three years of a deadly pandemic in which 70% of deaths worldwide occurred in the United States, HICPAC is ignoring the fact COVID is spread through aerosol transmission, not merely contact and not just “droplets.” Healthcare workers and patients need N95 or KN95 masks to protect against aerosol transmission of deadly diseases, including COVID.

With healthcare worker burnout at record highs, we need to protect those who remain safe from aerosol transmissible diseases. The hours lost to sickness, turnover, and healthcare worker burnout will ultimately cost much more. Surely healthcare worker lives and patient lives are worth protecting? Project N95 expects this ill-considered decrease in protections will lead to increased illnesses and deaths among healthcare workers and patients. Anyone with concerns can email HICPAC directly at HICPAC@CDC.GOV.

About Project N95
Project N95 is a national nonprofit organization working to protect people and their communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Through our online marketplace, we provide equitable access to affordable, authentic N95 respirators, KN95 and KF94 masks, kids masks, COVID-19 tests, and other products. Through our advocacy, education, and distribution of vetted goods and services, we strive to keep everyone safe and informed. Working with partners, donors, and customers, our team has provided at no cost, more than 5.1 million items like N95 respirators, surgical masks and gloves to communities disproportionately affected by the pandemic and related risk factors. For more information please visit projectn95.org and follow us on social media.

Jana L Sanchez
Project N95
+1 469-396-2048
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