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Acute shortage of H1N1 protection masks

FARZANA SYED. Dated: 2/23/2015 11:43:57 AM

SRINAGAR, Feb 22: As swine flu scare spreads across the valley the demand for the face masks has substantially hit the markets these days. Several local drug store owners revealed that people were
flocking the shops to buy the masks. They said that demand was so high that medical shops were running out of the stocks.
“There is a huge demand for the masks these days. People are thronging the medical shops and drug stores to buy the masks. Every day we run short of the supplies. Almost every day we have to order
for the fresh stock. Even today we have sold more than 1000 masks so far. Tomorrow we may have to order for new stock,” Abdul Hamid, a medical shop owner said.
Though the deadly outbreak has pressed for a huge demand of the masks, however, the chemists and physicians revealed that people were still naive regarding the masks with H1N1 protection.
Moreover, they said there was an acute shortage of the N93 and N95 respiratory masks which are used as protection against the lethal virus. Many locals also expressed their helplessness regarding buying
the effective masks.
“The N93 and N95 masks are rarely available in markets. People are just buying the ordinary ones which can be used as a cover against dust etc. Most of the customers we attend are not aware of which are
the preventive masks. There is indeed a huge shortage of H1N1 protective masks,” Mohammad Ibraheem a chemist at Karan Nagar revealed.
The medical superintendent SMHS hospital said that people should only buy the mask with H1N1 protection. He said the hospital was equipped with enough stocks of N1H1 protective masks.
“Only N93 and N95 masks can protect a person from N1H1 virus. However, as their names suggest N93 can provide you with 93 percent of protection which means there are 7 percent chances of being
vulnerable. Likewise N95 mask gives you 95 percent protection but 5 percent is still left. Same goes for theH1 N1 vaccine which can give you only 80 percent protection from the virus,” Dr Nazir Chaudhary,
medical superintendent SMHS hospital said.
He added, “Our hospital has enough stocks of N93 and N95 masks for the staff and the patients who need it.”
Owing to unprecedented demand for the masks not only druggists and chemists but most of the provisional store owners and other shopkeepers have kept the stocks available.
“We sell these black masks and people are swarming in to buy them. These are actually the normal masks with no protection from H1N1. But people are buying them like anything,” a supermarket owner at Pirbagh said.