The circumstances that led to the national shortage in PPE for healthcare workers, the inspiring work of New Orleans med students to equip medical providers with PPE and the science behind personal use of cloth masks are all topics covered in this special edition of the Emergency Medical Minute.

Host: Elizabeth Esty, MD

Research By: Julia Luyten

Sound Editing By: Stephen Bahmani

Time Stamps:

0:00 - The scope of the mask shortage

1:04 - What led to the shortage

5:01 - Interview with Taylor Hopper, med student from Tulane University School of Medicine (TUSOM), who's part of TUSOM COVID Response Group - an organization frantically working to adequately supply hospitals with PPE in New Orleans.

16:23 - The science behind personal use of cloth masks

References and Further Reading:

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/faqs-shortages-surgical-masks-and-gowns

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2190272/?smid=nytcore-ios-share

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673620305201?via%3Dihub

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7118603/

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/how-the-worlds-richest-country-ran-out-of-a-75-cent-face-mask/ar-BB11GgLi?li=BBnbcA1

https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2020/3/20/21188369/face-masks-short-supply-coronavirus-donations

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/26/opinion/coronavirus-doctors-hoarding.html

https://columbiasurgery.org/donate-ppe

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/3/27/21194402/coronavirus-masks-n95-respirators-personal-protective-equipment-ppe

https://www.nytimes.com/article/face-masks-coronavirus.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share

Photo Credit: https://flickr.com/photos/91499534@N00/49432443047