June 14, 2020
Before COVID-19, the acronym PPE was not known by most people. Industrial workers, first responders, and healthcare workers are familiar with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) because they use it every day. However, on an ordinary day, using the PPE acronym in a conversation, usually required some sort of explanation:
“Well, you know, PPE are safety products that protect people when they’re working… like gloves, goggles, hard hats, and face masks.”
Because of COVID-19, you don’t have to explain PPE anymore. This novel coronavirus has catapulted the acronym into the mainstream vernacular, shop talk and watercooler banter.
During this pandemic, healthcare workers and others have been scrambling for two sought-after products in the PPE pandemic world: the N95 respirator and surgical face masks. According to a survey conducted by Premier, Inc.,1 a healthcare improvement company, “Hospitals ranked the supply of N95 respirators as their top concern. . . . In