Scientists are pushing Biden’s administration to demand N95 masks in high-risk workplaces

More than a dozen top scientists are urging the Biden government to require N95 air filtration masks for workers in high-risk workplaces such as meat packers and prisons.

The 13 scientists, including some who advised President Joe Biden on the pandemic during the transition, called on the government to recognize that the virus is more in the air than previously thought, especially with the emergence of more contagious variants. The highly effective masks filter about 95% of all small particles.

The group, including David Michaels, an epidemiologist at George Washington University who led the Occupational Safety and Health Administration under Obama, also called on OSHA to enact new standards requiring improved ventilation in high-risk workplaces.

“The CDC’s guidelines and recommendations do not include the controls necessary to protect the public and workers from inhalation exposure to SARS-CoV-2,” the authors wrote in a letter sent Monday to response coordinator Jeff Zients. from the White House Covid-19. The letter was also sent to Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser.

“The inability to address SARS-CoV-2 inhalation exposure continues to put workers and the public at serious risk of infection,” the authors continued. “People of color, many of whom work on the front lines in critical jobs, have been most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic – and continue to suffer.”

Federal and international health agencies, including the World Health Organization, have been slow to recognize evidence showing that the coronavirus can spread efficiently through the air. It wasn’t until the summer that the WHO recognized that airborne spread could not be ruled out, only after more than 200 scientists called on the agency to do so.

The CDC, for its part, has appeared in recent weeks to recognize the importance of preventive measures aimed at airborne dispersal, such as tighter masks for the public. On Friday, the CDC issued new guidelines for school reopening, but only understood the importance of ventilation and said schools should open windows and doors when possible. Some doctors said they should have emphasized the importance of portable air filters or improved HVAC systems in schools.

In their letter sent Monday, the group of scientists outlined evidence of airborne spread of the virus and pointed to other countries such as Germany and France that have imposed higher-quality masks on workers and recommended improved indoor ventilation. They said current guidelines from the CDC and other agencies are “outdated” and need to be urgently updated because of the threat of new, more contagious variants.

Representatives for the CDC did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The scientists said the CDC and OSHA should mandate the use of N95 masks in high-risk workplaces. Currently, they said, the CDC is recommending less effective surgical masks for most health professionals due to a shortage of N95 masks. But the scientists said there is now a greater supply of N95 masks and it is time for CDC and OSHA to mandate their use in high-risk environments where workers may be exposed to coronavirus aerosols.

On his first full day of work, Biden ordered OSHA to issue emergency standards for Covid-19, including ventilation and masking rules, by March 15.

“Stronger protective measures are immediately needed to limit exposure and transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to combat and end the COVID-19 pandemic,” the scientists wrote to the administration. “Action is needed to better protect workers and the public from exposure to the virus by inhalation.”