‘N95s are still in a shortage,’ worrying hospitals

Early shortages of medical respirators known as N95 masks have persisted long past March, when the coronavirus surged in New York and first overwhelmed protective equipment supplies across the country. And while White House officials say U.S. hospitals have all the medical supplies they need, frontline health care workers and hospital officials told the Associated Press that’s not what they see. “N95s are still in a shortage,” said Mike Schiller, the American Hospital Association’s senior director for supply chains. “It’s certainly not anywhere near pre-Covid levels.”

In other Covid-19 news:

• Racial disparities in the coronavirus pandemic extend to people who stayed home from work with probable Covid-19 symptoms, a new study concludes, based on data from the Census Bureau Pulse Survey. Compared to people still working or absent with other illnesses or disabilities, adults home sick with Covid-19 symptoms had lower incomes, were more likely to be Black, Hispanic, or Asian, had less education, and lacked health insurance and food security.
• Nursing home residents account for about 40% of Covid-19 deaths in the U.S. A new study suggests an association between unionized workers, unions’ greater access to PPE and infection control policies, and reduced death rates in 335 New York state nursing homes.