Few people know that proper hand-washing to prevent diseases has been a global campaign since 2009. The SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands campaign or World Hand Hygiene Day is an annual celebration every May 5th to encourage healthcare professionals around the world.
With over 31 million COVID-19 cases all over the U.S., it’s not surprising how some prominent figures are coming out to shed light on their experiences in battling the deadly virus and eventually overcoming it.
As more expectant mothers in the U.S. are growing worried about the effects of COVID-19 on their pregnancies, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released standards and guidelines to ensure their safety and wellbeing.
While recent studies show that there’s a low risk of infection to newborns, it is still important for mothers to wear face-coverings and practice proper hygiene to avoid contracting the COVID-19 virus during the pregnancy or when taking care of a newborn considering that they are at an increased risk for severe illness.
Proper protocols upon detection of pregnancy
According to the CDC, women who are pregnant but do not show any COVID-19 symptoms should still make regular antenatal care visits to health facilities, where health workers will educate them on the symptoms and the importance of social distancing, the wearing of face masks when meeting visitors or going out, and what to do when they experience pregnancy-related complications. Medical-grade face masks with 95% levels of protection such as KN95 respirators are recommended for mothers from the gestation period to delivery.
For pregnant women who are experiencing symptoms or have been in contact with a potential carrier, testing and treatment should be administered immediately at a COVID-19 health facility, after which the general triage process will be observed.
Birthing alternatives out-of-hospital
A concerted effort by the CDC together with the American Hospital Association, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, and immunologists has also shed light on out-of-hospital deliveries for expectant mothers.
Among these, home births or deliveries in nearby birth centers that can provide prenatal, labor and delivery, and postpartum support are accessible countrywide. This, considering saturated admissions in hospitals for COVID-19 patients and the high risks involved in having their deliveries at hospitals can increase their chances of being infected.
Fortunately, there is no shortage of midwives in the U.S. with over 12,000 professionals across the country. However, midwives need to ensure that mothers are aware of available birthing options, potential risks involved in opting for out-of-hospital births, and proper practices in delivering newborns. It is also essential for midwives to practice infection protocols such as the wearing of face-coverings during health visits so they can also avoid COVID-19.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic upended people’s lives all over the world, more have reported experiencing depression and anxiety from being in quarantine. To mitigate the spread of the virus, worldwide lockdowns forced people in their homes and out of touch with friends and family.
After a year of dealing with COVID-19, more than 250 million people have been infected by the virus with nearly 3 million fatalities to date and still rising. As countries race against time to achieve herd immunity with the few available vaccines, most of us are still struggling to adapt to what is now the new normal.
The term ‘new normal’ started to gain traction early last year as every country started to implement social distancing, the wearing of face masks, and quarantines to try and curb the spread of the coronavirus. More people soon learned to adjust to ‘work from home’ arrangements and ordering essentials online but some adjustments just proved to be more intolerable for many than others. Soon, more employees fell to mass furloughing and unemployment, while companies across all industries were shuttered due to the pandemic’s economic backlash.
Redefining the new normal
Now knowing how COVID-19 acts as a double-edged sword that spells consequences to both public health and the global economy, it is essential to revisit where we are now in the new normal.
One huge factor that was left unchecked from the first year of the pandemic and the last year of the previous U.S. administration was the establishment of proper protocols on new normal guidelines and safety nets on the general public’s health that would have helped contain its spread. Face masks and N95 respirators turned into a political issue as the 2020 elections approached, and the pandemic was simply not taken seriously as it should have been.
Addressing new normal needs
While the new Biden administration is taking more drastic measures to streamline its inoculation campaigns and promote infection control, several states are still keen on relaxing its mandates on the wearing of face masks. Such a move could further delay the current administration’s target of a semblance to normalcy by the 2nd half of this year.
CDC recommendations are still in place on the wearing of face masks in public, preferably those that are made in the US, and pass the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Hazard (NIOSH) standards on filtration and fitting. The problem is that the country needs over 50 million N95 respirators a year and even the largest producers like 3M or Honeywell cannot meet the demands which prompted other players like The USA Mask Company to step up and deliver higher quality KN95 respirators which like N95 respirators, are also 95% effective against aerosol particles like COVID-19, to the global market.
Know where you can buy genuine, US-made KN95 respirators and how they can protect you from COVID-19 here.