April 09, 2021
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The FDA recommended that facilities move away from the crisis capacity maintenance measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as reusing decontaminated respirators.
“With the increasing domestic supply of new respirators approved by the CDC’s National Institute for Safety and Health at Work (NIOSH) to facilitate this transition, the FDA and CDC believe that an adequate supply of respirators is needed is in place to dispense with the use of decontamination and bioburden reduction systems, “stated the FDA in a letter to health care personnel and facilities.
The FDA recommended that facilities move away from the crisis capacity maintenance measures implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, such as reusing decontaminated respirators. Source: Adobe Stock.
In the letter, the FDA recommended limiting the decontamination and biological load reduction of disposable respirators, adding that respirators that have gone through these processes should only be used when there are not enough new, unused respirators with filter face masks (FFRs) are in place.
Facilities and workers should deviate from crisis capacity strategies like using decontaminated N95 and other FFRs, the FDA said, noting that they should increase their inventory of available NIOSH-approved respirators.
The FDA recommended that even if health care workers and facilities are unable to obtain their preferred respirators, they should get a new, unused respirator before using a preferred option that has undergone decontamination or biohazard reduction.
According to the letter, the FDA will not revoke the emergency permits currently issued for decontamination and bioburden reduction processes.
The organization noted that “as the supply of respirators to health workers domestically increases, the FDA will continue to monitor supply and demand to assess respirator availability when facilities systematically deviate from the most extreme respiratory protection measures ( i.e. crisis capacity strategies) to contingency and finally to conventional use. “
According to the letter, respiratory masks remain on an FDA-maintained equipment shortage list.
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