Because of the rising flood of incoming patients, some hospitals — such as those in North Dakota and Wisconsin — have been coping with crippling staff shortages and personnel who are burning out. “Many healthcare workers are becoming ill physically, emotionally, and mentally,” says Alan Taege, MD, an infectious-diseases specialist at the Cleveland Clinic, where the number of patients with the coronavirus has doubled since a July surge. As the country reaches a tipping point, Cleveland Clinic and nearly 100 healthcare systems nationwide have banded together to urge the public to help reverse this trend by following one simple directive: Wear a face mask. Working collectively under the title Every Mask Up and the hashtag #Maskup, these hospitals issued a public service announcement that ran nationally in The New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times this week. A corresponding video will continue to appear on social media.
A Message That Follows the Science
“The science has not changed,” states the campaign. “Masks slow the spread of COVID-19.” The message aligns with recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which says that face coverings not only block exhaled virus, they also protect the wearer’s exposure to infectious droplets. “[The] individual prevention benefit increases with increasing numbers of people using masks consistently and correctly,” wrote the CDC. Scientific research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in July 2020 and elsewhere support the practice. Despite months of messaging about the importance of wearing masks, Kristin Englund, MD, an infectious-diseases specialist at Cleveland Clinic, says, “Too many people are either not wearing a mask or are wearing them incorrectly. We are at a critical point in this pandemic, one where each and every one of us has the ability to choose to save lives by simply wearing a mask. As healthcare workers, we are imploring everyone to do their part, wear a mask, save a life.”
Fighting Pandemic Fatigue
Robert Glatter, MD, a physician in the department of emergency medicine at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City, adds that people may have become complacent about mask wearing over the summer and fall when cases were declining. “There was less compliance with mask wearing and maintaining distance throughout many parts of the country then, which has ultimately contributed to the spread of the virus,” he says. “With lack of a coordinated national campaign about the importance of universal masking, we are now trying to play ‘catch up’ as fall turns to winter and the virus continues to ravage the U.S.” Lenox Hill Hospital is part of Northwell Health, which is also participating in the Every Mask Up campaign.
Vaccines Look Promising, but Action Is Needed Now
Final stage trials from companies like Pfizer and Moderna have so far shown vaccine candidates to be very effective. The Every Mask Up program warns, however, that no one yet knows when those vaccines will be ready for widespread use. “With recent reports of vaccine efficacy approaching 95 percent, the reality is that the vaccine will not be available to the general public until springtime,” says Dr. Glatter. “While the news of two effective vaccines is quite promising, we still must not let our guard down and [must] continue to wear masks, maintain physical distance, and practice hand hygiene.”
Ripple Effect Deprives Others of Healthcare
The overwhelming number of seriously ill COVID-19 patients is delaying care for health matters other than the coronavirus. Dr. Taege says that most Cleveland Clinic Ohio hospitals have had to temporarily postpone nonessential surgical cases that require an inpatient hospital stay. “These nonessential cases can be safely rescheduled for a later date,” he says. “This decision will preserve hospital beds and supplies. We are closely monitoring supplies, including PPE, bed availability, and personnel.” In addition to masking, the coalition of #Maskup hospitals recommends that people follow other CDC suggestions for fighting the virus: Minimize the number of non-household contacts, maintain a physical distance of at least six feet, and limit the amount of time around others, especially while indoors and in poorly ventilated areas. For further information about mask guidelines, including how to choose a mask and how to properly wear a mask, visit the CDC website. “With Thanksgiving approaching, it’s vital that people do not travel, and only spend the holiday with their immediate family,” adds Glatter. “Wearing a mask in public and choosing to stay home with your family this holiday are two of the most important things you can do to help slow the spread of the virus. We can protect one another by practicing these simple public health measures. It’s a matter of life and death.”
