1. COVID-19 Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon

Since the Delta Variant began to spread earlier this year, new variants of concern continue to spread. The new “Delta Plus” AKA AY.2.2 which is a relative of the Delta variant first identified in India last October is a subvariant that has new mutations in the spike protein, helping the virus invade the body’s cells. According to scientific experts, the Delta Plus seems to be 10-15% more transmissible than the original Delta and is already spreading rapidly in the UK. According to an article published by NBC on October 25th, 2021, the “Delta Plus” COVID Variant is already in Massachusetts and some other US states. The good news is that Health Officials believe that the vaccines are still working against it, but the bad news is even fully vaccinated people are still contracting COVID. The COVID-19 vaccinations significantly reduce your chances of severe illness and death (across multiple age groups), but to avoid contracting or spreading COVID you NEED to wear a proper mask!

2. Medical & 3-Ply Masks Aren’t Cutting It!

To summarize the point above: If you don’t want to contract or spread COVID wear a mask, BUT it’s important to note that more and more data is proving that a higher grade of protection is needed to prevent the spread. What’s even scarier is that 3-ply medical masks that are being sold and provided to the medical industry are proving to be ineffective in protecting our frontline workers.

SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is airborne. Airborne pathogens require high-quality respirators that provide an airtight seal to our faces that will filter out airborne particles better than medical masks and disposable N95 respirators. We need to encourage everyone to wear masks that provide an airtight seal to their faces.

Nineteen months into the pandemic, we still don’t have a strategy to supply Canadians with high-grade protection. The public needs this information in clear language, as do employers who legally must protect their employees’ health.

According to an article in Healthy Debate:

Early this year, sociologist Zeynep Tufekci, who initially called for universal mask wearing in March 2020, wrote about the need for the public to upgrade to better quality masks. Students and high-risk workers (e.g., health-care staff, teachers and warehouse workers) still face barriers to accessing this essential equipment while having to spend time in settings that present some of the highest levels of exposure to the virus.

3 Ply, cloth & gator style masks have reported to be ineffective against the spread COVID due to the fact they do not provide filtration, are loose fitting and cannot provide a tight seal. Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Dr. Faucci reported that the only effective respirator to use is an N95 (or better) respirator that provides a tight seal.

3. No Source Control: We’re Not Prepared For Another Pandemic

At the start of COVID-19 many manufacturers jumped into the PPE space however without formal support and ongoing domestic contracts many of these businesses have been forced to close. This will result in the North American market having to return to relying on supply coming from offshore manufacturers. This pandemic has proven that we need to be able to control our domestic manufacturing. It’s not a question of if, but when the next pandemic hits and we are not prepared to protect our healthcare workers and population.

We snapped this photo at a COVID-19 assessment center recently:

How many things are SCARY about this image??

– At least one vented N95 respirator (NO SOURCE CONTROL)

– RN’s & Medical Staff are being forced to reuse disposable respirators (AGAINST FDA RECOMMENDATIONS)

– A range of different masks & respirators (NO CONSISTENT MODELS! Meaning the facility has had to conduct multiple fit tests because they can rarely get the same respirator supplied to staff consistently).

After speaking to staff there, we were told that N95’s are still very hard to come by for their clinic and they were grateful to learn about the Comfort-AirNx® Reusable Elastomeric Respirator without an exhalation valve as a safer, more cost effective solution!

THE SPREAD STOPS HERE!

Our Nurses and Healthcare professionals deserve better than this!

COVID-19 has been unlike any pandemic our generation has experienced. It effected not only our health but our supply of critical PPE and most importantly respirators. Due to North America’s dependency on foreign supply of disposable N95 respirators, many workers contracted the virus and died as a result. The CDC reported NOT to use respirator protection with an exhalation valve as it allows the air to exit the mask.

That’s why it was Dentec Safety’s goal to design a respirator that was reusable, safer, more comfortable and more economical than disposable respirators. We developed the Comfort-AirNx® Series – a reusable elastomeric rubber respirator without an exhalation valve.

Comfort-AirNx® Series respirators can be used in healthcare applications as well as general industry or wherever a group of workers of any type must work in close proximity.

4. The Environmental Impact of Medical Masks & Disposable N95’s is Alarming!

The COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to generate 72,000 tons of medical waste everyday, most of which are disposable masks! Healthcare professionals are required to toss their disposable N95 after each patient interaction! Disposable N95 waste alone will generate 6700 lbs. / 1000 people / year! How can we make public health priority while simultaneously destroying the health of our planet?

Elastomeric respirators like the Comfort-AirNx® Series are a sustainable solution and are designed to be cleaned, decontaminated and reused. Because of this feature, one elastomeric can do the work of hundreds, if not thousands, of disposable N95 masks [1]. Many hospitals and healthcare facilities have already converted to Elastomeric Half Mask Respirators Programs. Allegheny Health Network as an example, found that within one month, it was able to decrease the number of N95 masks it needed by 95 percent [2].

According to Dr. O’Toole:

“I would pay $3-$4/ per disposable mask and in Dental office you are easily going through 40 a day. If you start crunching the numbers for a medium to large office, you could be spending $30K or more on disposable respirators a year! And then there is the whole environmental impact from a waste diversion point of view. This is where I have really noticed a ROI and something I feel very strongly about. The environmental impact of disposable respirators and overall PPE is quite disgusting. When you’re going through so much disposable clothing/ PPE daily, how many garbage bags do you want to fill? Should your dumpster be emptied weekly or daily, it’s unbelievable. Environmentally, the Healthcare industry must move this way towards reusable respirators like the Comfort-Air®NxMD. It doesn’t make sense with the sheer volume of waste from disposable masks, we can’t keep doing this. We have a moral responsibility to make a shift.”   Read full case study here.

These facts may give you the chills but luckily safer and more sustainable Respiratory Protection like the Comfort-Air®NxMD can stop the spread and take away the Scares!

The Comfort-AirNx® Series is a safer, more comfortable, less expensive and more sustainable solution that is NOW AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC to help combat the spread of COVID-19!

Dentec Safety is a leading manufacturer and distributor of safety products in the North America since 2004. Dentec Safety is dedicated to providing the highest quality safety products and solutions delivering enhanced value and comfort. Our expertise from decades of experience in Industrial Safety and our innovative design technologies have solidified us as thought leaders in the field. Protection and comfort are at the core of everything we do at Dentec. As a leading manufacturer of Safety Solutions, it is our mission to help organizations do the right thing, keep their employees safe and exceed Industry Health & Safety Standard.