COVID-19 Update

Protection of healthcare workers is a priority. There is guidance on the CDC’s Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) website that offers a series of strategies or options to optimize supplies of disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirators (commonly called “N95 respirators”) in healthcare settings when there is limited supply. The Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators document includes considerations for use by federal, state, and local public health officials, respiratory protection program managers, occupational health service leaders, infection prevention and control program leaders, and other leaders in healthcare settings who are responsible for developing and implementing policies and procedures for preventing pathogen transmission in healthcare settings.

Additional resources include:

Checklist for Healthcare Facilities: Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators during the COVID-19 Response

• This checklist is intended to help healthcare facilities prioritize the implementation of the strategies presented in the Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators guidance.

Release of Stockpiled N95 Filtering Facepiece Respirators Beyond the Manufacturer-Designated Shelf Life: Considerations for the COVID-19 Response

• In times of increased demand and decreased supply, consideration can be made to use the N95s listed in the guidance past their manufacturer-designated shelf life when responding to COVID-19.
• This preliminary information from the NIOSH study suggests certain N95 models beyond their manufacturer-designated shelf life will be protective. CDC recommends that N95s that have exceeded their manufacturer-designated shelf life should be used only as outlined in the Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators.