Is Your Mask Working?
A CDC group is working on creating industry standards on filtration standards and the products that meet the requirements will receive a label of approval.
We all saw the progression of face masks from N-95 to surgical to cloth masks, buffs and more. We understood that as long as your nose and mouth are covered, you’re covered. Well, the CDC isn’t so sure about that. The question of how effective the various masks are has been a question since the start of the Pandemic but health officials haven’t had a moment to actually do the research. Now they are taking a second look.
According to the New York Times, “A division of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is working to develop minimum filter efficiency standards, and labels showing which products meet them, for the vast and bewildering marketplace for masks and other face coverings.” The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, as a division of the CDC is conducting this study and will have results next month.
The study will let us know what is effective and not and how much risk we are taking on with each mask type. Many public health officials have made the claim about how disturbed they are that we still do not have mask standards. Since April when the FDA issued the emergency measure requiring people to wear a face covering in public, we saw sales of masks skyrocket, unregulated. The FDA worried that the masks would not achieve the level of fluid barrier or filtration necessary to protect the public from each other but products continued to be sold in absence of Federally-regulated standards.
The effectiveness of a mask can range from 0-80% depending on the material used. N95s are considered the gold standard, which is why we quickly saw a shortage and influx of new options. The FDA did reach out to China for the KN95, China’s equivalent, but when fraudulent deals and masks started popping up with the KN95 stamp and sub-par quality, the FDA stopped the deal.
After the N95 debacle, the FDA did approve surgical masks. But with these, manufacturers were producing less than acceptable quality. When it became clear that finding the perfect mask wasn’t working and we weren’t receiving guidance on what to do, the Wild West broke out with masks of all types scattered across the frontier.
The new standards being developed would offer two levels of filtration and thus two levels of protection. One at 20% and one and 50%. These sound low but health officials assure that this is highly effective as a standard and would protect people against the most penetrative molecules. The standards will also take breathability into account. The last and arguably most important thing to consider with the new standards is cost and accessibility. The mask recommendations have to be available and affordable.
How will the new process look? Well mask manufacturers will need to get their products tested by an accredited laboratory to assess the accuracy of the mask and if it provides a reasonable fit to the general population. Those who pass can place the ASTM (American of Society of Testing Materials) stamp of approval on their packaging, although this will not be regulated. The hope is that the quest for a stamp of regulatory approval will force manufacturers to meet the guidelines and force out those who do not.