By By Dan Hounsell

The last line of defense for many workers in healthcare facilities — personal protective equipment (PPE) — has been a sore spot since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. PPE shortages forced organizations to ration supplies of masks, gowns and gloves, and some workers were forced to improvise their PPE.

Now, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is urging hospitals to transition from crisis capacity measures such as decontaminating and reusing N95 masks, citing an increased domestic supply, according to Becker’s Hospital Review. The FDA and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said they believe there are now adequate domestic supplies of masks.

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities should only reuse decontaminated masks when they're unable to obtain an adequate supply. It also recommended hospitals increase their inventory of masks.