MOSCOW (AP) — Russia on Tuesday became the first country to clear a coronavirus vaccine and declare it ready for use, despite international skepticism. President Vladimir Putin said that one of his daughters has already been inoculated. Putin emphasized that the vaccine underwent the necessary tests and has proven efficient, offering a lasting immunity from the coronavirus. However, scientists at home and abroad have been sounding the alarm that the rush to start using the vaccine before Phase 3 trials — which normally last for months and involve thousands of people — could backfire. Speaking at a government meeting Tuesday, Putin said that the vaccine has undergone proper testing and is safe. “I know it has proven efficient and forms a stable immunity, and I would like to repeat that it has passed all the necessary tests,” he said. “We must be grateful to those who made that first step very important for our country and the entire world.” The Russian leader added that one of his two adult daughters has received two shots of the vaccine. “She has taken part in the experiment,” Putin said. Putin said that his daughter had a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius (100.4 Fahrenheit) on the day of the first vaccine injection, and then it dropped to just over 37 degrees (98.6 Fahrenheit) on the following day. After the second shot she again had a slight increase in temperature, but then it was all over. “She’s feeling well and has high number of antibodies,” Putin added. He didn’t specify which of his two daughters — Maria or Katerina — received the vaccine. The Health Ministry said in Tuesday’s statement that the vaccine is expected to provide immunity from the coronavirus for up to two years. Putin emphasized that vaccination will be voluntary, Russian authorities have said that medical workers, teachers and other risk groups will be the first to be inoculated. Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova said that the vaccination of doctors could start as early as this month. Professor Alexander Gintsburg, head of the Gamaleya Institute that developed the vaccine, said that vaccination will start while the Phase 3 trials continue. He said that initially there will be only enough doses to conduct vaccination in 10-15 of Russia’s 85 regions, according to the Interfax news agency. Russian officials have said that large-scale production of the vaccine will start in September, and mass vaccination may begin as early as October. Russia has registered 897,599 coronavirus cases, including 15,131 deaths. When the pandemic struck Russia, Putin ordered state officials to shorten the time of clinical trials for potential coronavirus vaccines. Becoming the first country in the world to develop a vaccine was a matter of national prestige for the Kremlin as it tries to assert the image of Russia as a global power. State television stations and other media have praised scientists working on it and presented the work as the envy of other nations. Gintsburg raised eyebrows in May when he said that he and other researchers tried the vaccine on themselves. Human studies started June 17 among 76 volunteers. Half were injected with a vaccine in liquid form and the other half with a vaccine that came as soluble powder. Some in the first half were recruited from the military, which raised concerns that servicemen may have been pressured to participate. Amid Russia’s rush to become the first to create a vaccine, the U.S., Britain and Canada last month accused Russia of using hackers to steal vaccine research from Western labs. As the trials were declared completed, questions arose about the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. Some experts scoffed at Russian authorities’ assurances that the vaccine drug produced the desired immune response and caused no significant side effects, pointing out that such claims need to be backed by published scientific data. The World Health Organization said all vaccine candidates should go through full stages of testing before being rolled out. Experts have warned that vaccines that are not properly tested can cause harm in many ways — from a negative impact on health to creating a false sense of security or undermining trust in vaccinations.
Radio Free Wall Street
People Are Rioting In The Streets
This is something that one should not ignore. It’s a danger sign and an omen of what’s coming. In Lebanon, they’re burning down the banks. You are seeing a worldwide colossal failure of leadership.
At Least 97,000 Children in the U.S. Tested Positive in Last 2 Weeks of July
Trump’s unilateral economic relief actions come under fire. Ohio’s governor urges use of rapid tests, but with caution after his false positive.At least 97,000 children in the United States tested positive for the coronavirus the last two weeks of July alone, according to a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Children’s Hospital Association. The report says that at least 338,000 children have tested positive since the pandemic began, meaning more than a quarter have tested positive in just those two weeks. The report comes as parents and education leaders grapple with the challenges of resuming schooling as the virus continues to surge in parts of the country. More than seven out of 10 infections were from states in the South and West, according to the report, which relied on data from 49 states along with Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and Guam. The count could be higher because the report did not include complete data from Texas and information from parts of New York State outside of New York City. Missouri, Oklahoma, Alaska, Nevada, Idaho and Montana were among the states with the highest percent increase of child infections during that period, according to the report. New York City, New Jersey and other states in the Northeast, where the virus peaked in March and April, had the lowest percent increase of child infections, according to the report. In total, 338,982 children have been infected, according to the report. Not every locality where data was collected categorized children in the same age range. Most places cited in the report considered children to be people no older than 17 or 19. In Alabama, though, the age limit was 24; in Florida and Utah the age limit was 14. The report noted that children rarely get severely sick from Covid-19, but another report, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, highlighted how the threat from a new Covid-19-related condition, called Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children or MIS-C, has disproportionately affected people of color. The C.D.C. said that from early March through late July, it received reports of 570 young people — ranging from infants to age 20 — who met the definition of MIS-C. Most of those patients were previously healthy, the report said. About 40 percent were Hispanic or Latino; 33 percent were Black and 13 percent were white, the report said. Ten died and nearly two-thirds were admitted to intensive care units, it said. Symptoms include a fever, rash, pinkeye, stomach distress, confusion, bluish lips, muscle weakness, racing heart rate and cardiac shock. A reopened high school in Georgia that drew national attention over images of its crowded hallways has had at least nine coronavirus cases reported in the last week, and is switching to online-only instruction for at least the next two days while the school is disinfected and officials assess the situation. “At this time, we know there were six students and three staff members who were in school for at least some time last week who have since reported to us that they have tested positive,” Gabe Carmona, the principal of North Paulding High School in Dallas, Ga., said in a letter to parents and guardians of the school’s students on Saturday. The superintendent of the Paulding County School District, Brian Otott, sent them another letter Sunday advising them about the switch to online instruction for Monday and Tuesday, at the least. Both letters encouraged parents to check their children’s temperature twice daily and to monitor them for symptoms. Neither letter made any mention of social distancing or wearing masks, which the school has said are encouraged but not mandatory But Dr. Gary Voccio, the health director for Paulding County and nine other counties in Northwest Georgia, said that masks were crucial to containing the spread of the virus. “Of course you have to change classrooms, and it’s going to be very difficult to physically distance when that occurs,” Dr. Voccio said in a video posted on Facebook. “But the masks, again, are the important part of this problem. And we will have significant cases within the schools, I’m sure.” At least 66 new coronavirus deaths and 4,032 new cases were reported in Georgia on Saturday, according to a New York Times database.
His experience could raise concerns about how much states will rely on antigen tests to augment other forms of testing that are in short supply. Ohio is one of seven states that said this week that they were banding together to purchase a total of 3.5 million rapid coronavirus tests, including antigen tests, along with other vital supplies. Governor DeWine said on CNN Sunday that he had already been in touch with Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland to talk about the tests and the seven-state agreement.
“If anyone needed a wake-up call with antigens, how careful you have to be, we certainly saw that with my test,” Governor DeWine said. “And we’re going to be very careful in how we use it.”
He added that he would direct any funding from a new federal relief package to expanded testing and helping schools adapt.
“We have doubled our testing in the last four weeks,” he said. “We need to double it again and then double it again. And so that is not going to be cheap to do.”
PCR tests are in short supply nationwide, and turnaround times for results have stretched past two weeks in some parts of the country, rendering the information useless.
Compared with PCR tests, Quidel’s antigen test is more likely to return a false negative result, missing up to 20 percent of cases that PCR detects, though the figure may drop below 5 percent for patients with high virus levels. But Governor DeWine’s antigen test produced the opposite error: a false positive.
He noted on Sunday that antigen tests function especially well as screening tests, delivering a quick preliminary indication that can be confirmed by the more accurate but slower PCR tests.
Virus cases have surged in the United States in recent weeks, particularly in the Sun Belt states and in communities where officials moved quickly to reopen. According to a New York Times database, the United States leads the world in confirmed cases with more than five million — a milestone reached on Saturday — followed by Brazil and India. Experts have warned that the actual number of people infected is far greater than the confirmed case count. Brazil also reached a milestone of 100,000 deaths on Saturday.
Trump’s moves on economic aid draw fire on the Sunday news shows.
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Administration officials struggled in television appearances on Sunday to explain President Trump’s attempts to circumvent Congress in the absence of an agreement on a coronavirus aid package, sowing further confusion over whether tens of millions of Americans will receive the promised relief.
The president announced executive steps on Saturday that he said were intended to address lapsed unemployment benefits, reinstate an eviction ban, provide relief for student borrowers and suspend collection of payroll taxes. They came after crucial benefits provided under earlier aid bills had lapsed, and after two weeks of talks between congressional Democrats and administration officials failed to yield an agreement on a broader relief package.
But Mr. Trump’s steps appeared unlikely to have a meaningful impact on the sputtering economy, raising questions about whether Mr. Trump had taken them mainly to gain more leverage in his face-off with Congress.
Democrats criticized the actions on Sunday as executive overreach, and warned that the nation’s social safety net could be jeopardized.
“The president’s meager, weak and unconstitutional actions further demand that we have an agreement,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said on “Fox News Sunday.”
She, along with Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, urged administration officials to resume talks and seek a compromise on a broad relief package.
“The president’s executive orders, described in one word, could be paltry; in three words, unworkable, weak and far too narrow,” Mr. Schumer said on the ABC program “This Week.”
Mr. Trump’s top economic advisers were on the defensive Sunday about whether the president had the authority to bypass Congress, which retains the constitutional power of the purse, and redirect billions of dollars in spending. But there was some acknowledgment that the measures were not as potent as congressional action would be. “The downside of executive orders is, you can’t address some of the small business incidents that are there,” said Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff, in a prerecorded interview that was broadcast Sunday on Gray Television. “You can’t necessarily get direct payments, because it has to do with appropriations. That’s something that the president doesn’t have the ability to do. So, you miss on those two key areas. You miss on money for schools. You miss on any funding for state and local revenue needs that may be out there.”
Continue reading “At Least 97,000 Children in the U.S. Tested Positive in Last 2 Weeks of July”
Mnuchin: I am pleased with Trump’s executive orders
https://youtu.be/gu_usZUyvfk
Steven Mnuchin says Democrats will ‘have a lot of explaining to do’ if they challenge Trump’s executive order after Schumer calls it ‘faulty and unworkable’ and Nancy slams it as ‘an illusion’
- Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday that Democrats will ‘have a lot of explaining to do’ if they sue over Donald Trump’s executive orders
- Other White House officials have said they are not concerned with legal action, claiming they are confident the measures will hold up in court
- ‘I’m confident every single one of those orders, which cleared through the office of legal council, will stand up,’ Trump’s economic adviser Peter Navarro said
- The comments come as Democrats, and some Republicans, question the constitutionality of Trump’s unilateral actions on Saturday
- Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the measures are too ‘weak’ and claimed they are ‘unworkable’ for Democrats
- ‘The event at the country club is just what Trump does — a big show but it doesn’t do anything,’ Schumer said of Trump’s event at his golf club
The White House is confident President Donald Trump‘s four new executive orders will stand up in court as lawmakers denounce the unilateral move as ‘unconstitutional’ and the action faces potential legal battles. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Sunday morning that Democrats will have to explain a lot if they decide to legally challenge the executive orders aimed at providing relief to Americans in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. ‘[They] will have some explaining to do,’ Mncuhin told Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace of the opposition party.’I am pleased that President Trump has taken action to ensure that economic relief continues to go to America’s workers, families and businesses,’ Mnuchin wrote in a statement Sunday. Democrats, however, are questioning the constitutionality of the orders and have raised concerns over some measures they say are problematic. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told ABC News Sunday morning that the executive orders are ‘faulty and unworkable’ for where Democrats feel it should be. ‘The event at the country club is just what Trump does — a big show but it doesn’t do anything,’ he lamented to ABC News This Week host George Stephanopoul, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the measures ‘faulty and unworkable’ and Democrats question the constitutionality of the executive actions. Peter Navarro, Trump’s top economic adviser, told NBC News Sunday that the White House is not concerned about being sued, claiming he is confident the orders will stand up in court. ‘One of the things I’ve learned here at the White House going through a lot of work on executive orders is what we have the statutory authority to do,’ Navarro said during an interview with NBC News’ Meet the Press Sunday morning.
‘And I’m confident every single one of those orders, which cleared through the office of legal council, will stand up,’ he told host Chuck Todd.
Trump’s executive orders, which he signed Saturday afternoon at his Bedminster, New Jersey golf club, include suspending payroll taxes for those making less than $96,000, reducing and extending expired unemployment benefits to a $400-per-week boost, placing a memorandum on evictions and deferring student loan payments.
The two biggest concerns from Democrats are the payroll tax cut, which they argue would harm social security, and the unemployment benefits.
Under the unemployment benefits order, Trump lowered the $600-per-week boost, which was passed in a previous stimulus package and expired last month, to $400-per-week. The action also now requires states to pay 25 per cent of those benefits to their jobless citizens.
Democrats argue states already strapped for cash in the midst of the economic crisis will not be able to pay those benefits to the millions left jobless as a result of the pandemic.
‘The payroll tax cut, we clearly have the authority to do it, that can be done easily through the Treasury Department,’ Navarro argued.
Larry Kudlow conceded that the administration may ‘go to court’ over the executive orders, but said: We’re going to go ahead with our actions anyways’
Mnuchin assured during his Fox News Sunday interview that before the order was drafted, states told him they could get the extra unemployment benefits ‘up and running.’
Trump signaled during the executive order signing on Saturday that he could likely face legal troubles over the measures, and Democrats confirmed that suspicion by questioning the constitutionality of the unilateral motions.
Larry Kudlow, director of the National Economic Council, said he ‘appreciates’ that lawmakers, including some Republicans believe there are some issues with the president taking action.
‘Maybe we’re going to go to court on them,’ he conceded to ABC’s Stephenopoulos during an interview Sunday morning. ‘We’re going to go ahead with our actions anyways.’ ‘Our council’s office, the Treasury Department believes it has the authority to temporarily suspend tax collections,’ Kudlow said. ‘So we’re banking on that.’
Latest Research Points to Children Carrying, Transmitting Coronavirus
Children might be more vulnerable to Covid-19 than once believed, with new research suggesting that they are able to contract and spread the virus, especially if they don’t take precautions such as wearing a mask.
Several studies and reports published in recent weeks found coronavirus infections among children of all ages at places ranging from schools to camps to homes. Other research suggested that kids, especially older ones, can be a driving force behind transmission.
And some researchers found children carry high levels of Covid-19’s genetic material in their upper respiratory tract, which doesn’t mean they are transmitting the virus but that they potentially could. Most of the studies have limitations, and more research is needed, experts say. Yet the new studies, together with reports of outbreaks among children at some schools overseas and a summer camp in Georgia, have persuaded many researchers that children aren’t as immune to Covid-19 as initially thought.
“Are they susceptible to catching the virus? Absolutely. Are they able to transmit the virus? Absolutely,” said Joelle Simpson, interim chief of emergency medicine at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
In the U.S., 45 children under the age of 15 years have died from Covid-19, compared with nearly 25,000 deaths of people between the ages of 45 to 64, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its data also show far lower rates of hospitalization among children. Meanwhile, other studies, including one published in June in the journal Pediatrics, found infected children under 18 years old in China tend to exhibit only mild or moderate symptoms, or no symptoms at all. Yet the latest research indicates children may be carriers just as much as adults.
Even when experiencing only a mild or moderate case, children under the age of five might have anywhere between 10 to 100 times as much of Covid-19’s genetic material, viral RNA, in their upper respiratory tracts as older children and adults, according to a study published last month in the journal JAMA Pediatrics. The study didn’t show children were able to transmit the virus. Yet researchers say the findings suggest children are likely capable of spreading the coronavirus. The change in thinking comes as schools prepare to begin a new year, including some still deciding whether it would be safe for children to return to classrooms. President Trump and some members of his administration have urged schools to reopen.
US tops 5 million confirmed virus cases, to Europe’s alarm
ROME (AP) — With confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. hitting 5 million Sunday, by far the highest of any country, the failure of the most powerful nation in the world to contain the scourge has been met with astonishment and alarm in Europe. Perhaps nowhere outside the U.S. is America’s bungled virus response viewed with more consternation than in Italy, which was ground zero of Europe’s epidemic. Italians were unprepared when the outbreak exploded in February, and the country still has one of the world’s highest official death tolls at 35,000. But after a strict nationwide, 10-week lockdown, vigilant tracing of new clusters and general acceptance of mask mandates and social distancing, Italy has become a model of virus containment. “Don’t they care about their health?” a mask-clad Patrizia Antonini asked about people in the United States as she walked with friends along the banks of Lake Bracciano, north of Rome. “They need to take our precautions. … They need a real lockdown.”
Much of the incredulity in Europe stems from the fact that America had the benefit of time, European experience and medical know-how to treat the virus that the continent itself didn’t have when the first COVID-19 patients started filling intensive care units.
Yet, more than four months into a sustained outbreak, the U.S. reached the 5 million mark, according to the running count kept by Johns Hopkins University. Health officials believe the actual number is perhaps 10 times higher, or closer to 50 million, given testing limitations and the fact that as many as 40% of all those who are infected have no symptoms. With America’s world’s-highest death toll of more than 160,000, its politicized resistance to masks and its rising caseload, European nations have barred American tourists and visitors from other countries with growing cases from freely traveling to the bloc. The virus is still raging in some Balkan countries, and thousands of maskless protesters demanded an end to virus restrictions in Berlin earlier this month. Hard-hit Spain, France and Germany have seen infection rebounds with new cases topping 1,000 a day, and Italy’s cases inched up over 500 on Friday. Britain is still seeing an estimated 3,700 new infections daily, and some scientists say the country’s beloved pubs might have to close again if schools are to reopen in September without causing a new wave. In the U.S., new cases are running at about 54,000 a day — an immensely high number even when taking into account the country’s larger population. And while that’s down from a peak of well over 70,000 last month, cases are rising in nearly 20 states, and deaths are climbing in most. “Had the medical professionals been allowed to operate in the States, you would have belatedly gotten to a point of getting to grips with this back in March,” said Scott Lucas, professor of international studies at the University of Birmingham, England. “But of course, the medical and public health professionals were not allowed to proceed unchecked,” he said, referring to Trump’s frequent undercutting of his own experts.
When the virus first appeared in the United States, Trump and his supporters quickly dismissed it as either a “hoax” or a virus that would quickly disappear once warmer weather arrived. At one point, Trump suggested that ultraviolet light or injecting disinfectants would eradicate the virus.
Trump’s frequent complaints about Dr. Anthony Fauci have regularly made headlines in Europe, where the U.S. infectious-disease expert is a respected figure. Italy’s leading COVID-19 hospital offered Fauci a job if Trump fired him.
Trump has defended the U.S. response, blaming China, where the virus was first detected, for America’s problems and saying the U.S. numbers are so high because there is so much testing. Trump supporters and Americans who have refused to wear masks against all medical advice back that line. “There’s no national strategy, no national leadership, and there’s no urging for the public to act in unison and carry out the measures together,” he said. “That’s what it takes, and we have completely abandoned that as a nation.”
Trump antagonizes GOP megadonor Adelson in heated phone call
When President Donald Trump connected by phone last week with Republican megadonor Sheldon Adelson — perhaps the only person in the party who can cut a nine-figure check to aid his reelection — the phone call unexpectedly turned contentious. The 87-year-old casino mogul had reached out to Trump to talk about the coronavirus relief bill and the economy. But then Trump brought the conversation around to the campaign and confronted Adelson about why he wasn’t doing more to bolster his reelection, according to three people with direct knowledge of the call. One of the people said it was apparent the president had no idea how much Adelson, who’s donated tens of millions of dollars to pro-Trump efforts over the years, had helped him. Adelson chose not to come back at Trump. When word of the call circulated afterward, Republican Party officials grew alarmed the president had antagonized one of his biggest benefactors at a precarious moment in his campaign. They rushed to smooth things over with him, but the damage may have been done. Adelson’s allies say it’s unclear whether the episode will dissuade the Las Vegas mogul — long regarded as a financial linchpin for Trump’s reelection — from helping the president down the home stretch.
With Trump trailing badly, some donors are more interested in bankrolling efforts to save the GOP’s Senate majority. Among the contributors who’ve cut checks to the super PAC for Senate Republicans but not Trump’s are hedge fund manager Paul Singer, investor Charles Schwab, and real estate developer Mel Sembler.
Others say there is simply exhaustion with Trump and disgust at his handling of the coronavirus pandemic.
US new COVID cases rise to 65,474, daily deaths up by 1,329
Lack of discipline has led to a recent spike in virus cases, WHO spokeswoman says
- More than 18.8 million people have contracted the virus worldwide, resulting in nearly 708,000 deaths
All updates in Universal Coordinated Time (UTC/GMT)
23:00 Here’s a roundup of all developments from Asia at the end of Wednesday:
China: The country is struggling to contain an outbreak in the northwestern region of Xinjiang with 101 new cases reported on Wednesday. This is the highest daily increase for China in weeks.
India is set to open gyms and lift a nighttime curfew that has been in place for months, even as the total number of confirmed infections cross 1.5 million. Schools, colleges, cinemas and bars will remain closed.
North Korean authorities are reminding foreigners residing in Pyongyang to abide by preventive measures like wearing masks and avoiding large gatherings, as North Korea investigates its first possible infection.
Some areas in Japan are running out of isolation facilities as the country attempts to deal with an uptick in confirmed infections. Chief government spokesman Yoshihide Suga said the national government is ready to help regions that are struggling to house and monitor those infected.
22:35 Here’s the latest news from North and South America:
The death toll from COVID-19 in the United States has exceeded 158,000, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. More than half of the country’s 50 states have recorded 1,000 deaths. The US has also recorded more than 4.8 million cases since the pandemic began.
Brazil set a daily record of 69,074 new cases and 1,595 deaths, according to the country’s health ministry. Brazil has now recorded more than 2.5 million cases and 90,134 deaths since the pandemic began, both of which are the second highest in the world behind the US.
Ecuador’s capital Quito has seen a surge in coronavirus cases since the South American country eased lockdown measures last month. The city has recorded 12,474 cases and 605 deaths since the pandemic began, but half of the cases and 141 deaths have been recorded since June 30. Ecuador has a whole has registered 83,193 cases and 5,623 deaths.
Hospital officials in Guatemala say they have had to bury dozens of unidentified COVID-19 death victims. A hospital has been creating an archive with the hopes of eventually identifying the deceased when the pandemic passes. Guatemala has recorded 47,605 cases and 1,800 deaths since the pandemic began.
Argentina has approved clinical trials of a COVID-19 treatment involving hyperimmune serum from horses. The serum is obtained by injecting a horse with a SARS-CoV-2 protein and extracting plasma with the neutralizing antibodies the horse creates. The clinical trial, which is being conducted by biotech firm Inmunova, will be carried out on 242 people diagnosed with the disease.
19:00 The government of the Netherlands said on Wednesday that it would not formally advise or require people to wear masks in public, saying their effectiveness was yet to be proven. Over the past week, the Netherlands has identified 1,329 new cases, an increase of roughly one third on the previous week.
16:15 Germany has said it will provide 1.4 million COVID-19 tests to the African Union, as an estimated 20,000 new infections on the African continent are currently being reported every day — twice as many as last month.
In South Africa, the hardest-hit African country with 450,000 COVID-19 cases, only around 46 tests have been carried out per 1,000 people, according to Oxford University. In Kenya, the number is around 4.8 and in Nigeria it is 1 per 1,000. By comparison the German figure is around 88 per 1,000 and the US is at 155 per 1,000.
15:10 Israel’s Ministry of Health has reported a record 2,093 new COVID-19 cases in 24 hours, as infections continue to rise after Israeli authorities appeared to have the virus under control in May. Since lockdowns were lifted at the end of May, cases have steadily risen, and the government has faced widespread protests and public discontent over its handling of the pandemic and other more longstanding grievances.
Israel has logged a total of 66,805 COVID-19 cases and 490 deaths, with over 33,000 cases currently active.
Continue reading “US new COVID cases rise to 65,474, daily deaths up by 1,329”
Trump announces four orders on economic relief
Elastomeric respirators are safer then N95 masks during the coronavirus
Elastomeric (P3 r cartage) respirators are safer and more
sustainable alternatives to disposable N95
masks during the coronavirus outbreak
International Journal of
Emergency Medicine
A study done in Wuhan where COVID-19 had its initial outbreak found that aerosolized viral particles were detectable in high concentrations
in rooms where providers were doffing PPE,
and the majority of these particles were 0.25 to 0.5 μm. Another study has found that aerosolized viral particles of COVID-19 are detectable in the air 3 h after aerosolization [11]. Based on this evidence, proper protective equipment against aerosols and the safe removal of PPE are crucial for prevention of coronavirus infection in the healthcare setting. Reusing disposable N95 masks potentially
exposes patients and workers to considerable infection
In this regard, respirator masks with particulate (P3 R Canister) filters can be used for an extremely long duration, at least 1 year, so long as
the filter is not damaged or soiled [15].
Evidence shows that coronavirus remains detectable and viable on varioussurfaces up to 3 days [11]. It can then be extrapolated that once these viral particles are trapped in the electrostatic filters, they will slowly die over several days,
negating the need to change viral filters frequently.
Given the current short supply of disposable N95 masks, this advantage can potentially allow one respirator mask to replace using hundreds to potentially thousands ofnew disposable N95 masks. Elastomeric respirators also differ from disposable N95 masks in that they have a separate exhale vent, and exhaled air does not travel through the contaminated filter and re-aerosolize trapped viral particles. This is in contrast
to disposable N95 masks, which when re-used may
carry an increased risk of transferring viral particles from one patient to another.
Better fit and seal National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)-approved (P3 R masks) have nonpowered particulate filter efficiency class to 99.97% filtration of particulates down to 0.3 μm, respectively. There are three levels of oil-particle resistance, N for no resistance, R for some oil resistance, and P for being completely oil proof [16].
Each user needs to be fit-tested for these respirator masks to be effective [17]. However, several studies show that healthcare professionals that do not frequently use N95 masks or wear masks for an extended duration tend to have inadequate seal. Nearly half of healthcare professionals who repeat a fit test 3 months after passing a fit test end up failing the second fit test [18]. (PAPRs), elastomeric respirators are still superior and preferred options over disposable respirators, especially given the severe shortage and increasing cases of healthcare professional infected with coronavirus. Currently, the CDC recommends that health care providers that will be within 3 ft of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 patient without a mask, or if providers are in the room for an aerosolizing procedure, the provider may voluntarily utilize higher level of protection than N95 masks, such as elastomeric respirators or PAPR. The American Academy of Emergency Physicians and American Association of Nurse Anesthetists have made official statements that
support healthcare providers using self-supplied
NIOSH-approved PPE to feel safe or if it is inadequately provided [23, 24]. Download the coplete study below
Electro resperators better then N95
Chiang et al. International Journal of Emergency Medicine (2020) 13:39
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12245-020-00296-8