With COVID-19 cases continuing to steadily climb in the U.S., health care workers are worried about hospitals once again running short on personal protective equipment.
The president of the National Nurses United union told the Associated Press that equipment like shoe and hair covers, gowns and face masks are in short supply. She said, "They're being doled out, and we're still being told to reuse them."
It's worth noting that equipment like N95 masks are designed to be disposed of after a single use. But during the pandemic, the FDA has signed off on decontaminating and reusing some of those masks.
The AP reports some physicians' offices in the U.S. have kept their doors shut because they can't get hold of necessary supplies.
According to the CDC, more than 94,000 health care workers in the U.S. have contracted COVID-19 since the pandemic began. Hundreds of them have died.
Additional reporting by Geoff Mulvihill and Camille Fassett of the Associated Press.
