from the editor
from the editor
Experts Issue a Call for the Universal Use of Respirators to Replace Surgical Masks in Healthcare Settings
Aletter was sent Jan. 7, 2026 to seven top officials at the World
Health Organization( WHO) from“ experts from around the globe in medicine, public health, law, industrial hygiene, and other disciplines” who hope to change what they call the WHO’ s“ historical and ongoing position on failing to advocate for the use of respirators in healthcare settings.”
The experts summarized that“ surgical masks provide inadequate protection against airborne pathogens; the current WHO guidelines are harming healthcare workers( HCWs) and patients; and WHO as a global healthcare safety leader has the power to reduce disease burden in healthcare settings through more effective advocacy.” They add,“ WHO should lead decisively toward safer healthcare by establishing respirators as the universal default for all healthcare encounters, with clearly defined, locally determined off-ramps based on transparent risk indicators and the use of effective engineering controls. This recommendation would align WHO policy with science and existing safety standards and would improve safety for both patients and healthcare providers.”
As we know, both NIOSH and OSHA said that surgical masks provide inadequate protection and“ are not designed or certified to prevent the inhalation of small airborne contaminants.” We also know that the former Healthcare Infection Control Advisory Committee( HICPAC) said that surgical masks were equivalent.
The letter’ s signatories state that“ There is now overwhelming evidence— from decades of laboratory science, aerosol physics, and occupational hygiene— that surgical masks, which were not designed for wearer or patient protection against respiratory infection, are vastly inferior to respirators … Respirators are regulated on their ability to achieve a specific minimum protection factor, while surgical masks are not. Respirators for healthcare settings are plentiful, affordable, comfortable, and safe, with new models developed routinely that provide additional breathability, ecological sustainability, and reusability. There is no rational justification remaining for prioritizing or using surgical masks in healthcare environments. There is even less justification for allowing HCWs to wear no face covering at all, or for facilities to discourage respirator or mask use by patients …. The use of surgical masks as primary respiratory protection in healthcare settings represents a critical mismatch between the hazard and the protective equipment provided and is fundamentally inconsistent with core principles of occupational safety.”
They explain that randomized controlled trials( RCTs) and epidemiological studies that attempt to assess the impact of surgical masks or respirators in reducing disease, hospitalizations, or deaths in community settings“ are inherently flawed and misleading due to substantial methodological limitations and lack of statistical power. They are not capable of measuring true exposure reduction, because subjects in the‘ protected’ group may be unmasked for large portions of the day, while subjects in the control group may be protected at some times. Studies that measure disease or severe disease add substantial and unmeasured noise from individual variations in susceptibility and exposure. At best, these studies show that mandates for respirator use may be difficult to enforce outside the workplace— they do not and cannot disprove the well-documented physical efficacy of respirators themselves.”
The experts also outlined a seven-step plan they believe that WHO should implement, which includes improving IPC guidelines, correcting prior misinformation, supporting equitable access to respirators worldwide, and convening a broadly representative panel of experts and stakeholders to promote implementation of these improved healthcare safety measures.
Read the letter in its entirety at: https:// whn. global / a-call-forthe-universal-use-of-respirators-in-healthcare /
Until next time, bust those bugs!
Kelly M. Pyrek Editor & Publisher Kelly @ healthcarehygienemagazine. com healthcarehygienemagazine
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6 • www. healthcarehygienemagazine. com • jan-feb 2026