FDA Grants Health Care Personnel Access to Industrial Respirators: Public Not To Use Them

A man tries on an air permeable charcoal impregnated suit, combined with a respirator (or gas mask), rubber boots and three layers of gloves during a simulation at the OPCW (The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) headquarters in The Hague, The Netherlands, on April 20, 2017. John Thys/AFP via Getty Images

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on March 2 granted a request by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to allow health care personnel to use certain industrial respirators during the COVID-19 outbreak in health care settings.

In a news release, the agency said the action would allow certain National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approved respirators, which are not currently regulated by the FDA, to be used in a health care setting by health care personnel, thereby maximizing the number of respirators available to meet the needs of the U.S. health care system.