Estimated N95 Respirator Needs for Nonhealthcare Essential Workers in the United States During Communicable Respiratory Infectious Disease Pandemics.

ABSTRACT: Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, demand for N95 respirators far exceeded the supply, leading to widespread shortages. Initially, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention did not recommend N95 respirators in nonhealthcare settings, in order to reserve them for healthcare workers. As N95s became more available, the recommendations were updated in May 2021 to include N95 respirators for nonhealthcare settings. In this study, we estimated the numbers of N95s needed for nonhealthcare essential workers in the United States. This information is valuable for crisis preparedness and planning for future large-scale communicable respiratory infectious disease epidemics or pandemics. We adapted a spreadsheet-based tool originally built to estimate the potential demand for N95 respirators durin

SUBMITTER: Fechter-Leggett ED 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9038697 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar-Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature