Even at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic between late December and early January, one of the medical essentials to run out of supply was disposable surgical face masks.
A lot of people concerned about contracting the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome - Coronavirus 2 (SARS-COV2) virus bought disposable surgical face masks in bulk, resulting in a severe undersupply. Drugstores and medical stores ran out of supply as enterprising individuals took to the Internet to sell masks at ridiculous overpriced rates.
A consequence of the shortage in surgical masks, both domestically and globally, is that health professionals couldn't find masks themselves anymore.
Health professionals, including doctors and nurses and hospital staff, constitute one of the sectors most vulnerable to the threat posed by SARS-COV2. Constantly exposed to patients who may or may not have the virus, health professionals need to protect themselves as they continue to undertake the hazardous but very essential task of tending to the sick at a time when everyone else is scared of a disease that has no known cure yet.
In the Philippines, health professionals face the same risks and problems. With the shortage in surgical masks, doctors and nurses from the Philippine General Hospital in Manila seek the public's health for much-needed surgical masks.
In these extraordinary times, let us make sure our health professionals remain in the pink of health as they carry out their duties. Donate and help.