page_title: N95 mask
section_title: In healthcare
hierarchical_section_title: N95 mask / Use / In healthcare
caption_attribution_description: 200416-N-PH222-1039 LOS ANGELES (April 16, 2020) Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class Brennan Leary, from Johnstown, Pa., treats a patient in an intensive care unit aboard the hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) April 16. Mercy deployed in support of the nation's COVID-19 response efforts, and will serve as a referral hospital for non-COVID-19 patients currently admitted to shore-based hospitals. This allows shore base hospitals to focus their efforts on COVID-19 cases. One of the Department of Defense's missions is Defense Support of Civil Authorities. DoD is supporting the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the lead federal agency, as well as state, local and public health authorities in helping protect the health and safety of the American people. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Ryan M. Breeden)
context_page_description: An N95 mask or N95 respirator is a particulate-filtering facepiece respirator that meets the U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health N95 classification of air filtration, meaning that it filters at least 95% of airborne particles. This standard does not require that the respirator be resistant to oil; another standard, P95, adds that requirement. The N95 type is the most common particulate-filtering facepiece respirator. It is an example of a mechanical filter respirator, which provides protection against particulates but not against gases or vapors.
  N95 respirators are considered functionally equivalent to certain respirators regulated under non-U.S. jurisdictions, such as FFP2 respirators of the European Union and KN95 respirators of China. However, slightly different criteria are used to certify their performance, such as the filter efficiency, test agent and flow rate, and permissible pressure drop.
  The N95 mask requires a fine mesh of synthetic polymer fibers, specifically a nonwoven polypropylene fabric. It is produced by melt blowing and forms the inner filtration layer that filters out hazardous particles.
context_section_description: Respirators used in healthcare are traditionally a specific variant called a surgical respirator, which is both approved by NIOSH as a respirator and cleared by the Food and Drug Administration as a medical device similar to a surgical mask.  These may also be labeled  "Surgical N95", "medical respirators", or "healthcare respirators". As part of the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, changes were made to liability and certification laws to allow industrial respirators to be used in healthcare settings, in response to shortages of respirators during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  In the United States, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires healthcare workers who are expected to perform patient activities with those suspected or confirmed to be infected with COVID-19 to wear respiratory protection, such as an N95 respirator. The CDC recommends the use of respirators with at least N95 certification to protect the wearer from inhalation of infectious particles including Mycobacterium tuberculosis, avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), pandemic influenza, and Ebola.  
  Unlike a respirator, a surgical mask is designed to provide barrier protection against droplets and does not have an air-tight seal and thus does not protect its wearer against airborne particles such as virus material to the same extent.
caption: A U.S. Navy sailor wearing a surgical N95 respirator
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