Can Plastic Face Shields Prevent The Spread Of Coronavirus

As the coronavirus pandemic continues, many are wondering what they'll do to protect themselves when out of the house. The Centers for Illness Management and Prevention (CDC) continue to emphasize the importance of staying home, social distancing, wearing material face coverings, ceaselessly washing your palms and avoiding touching your face.

But some are wondering if individuals should take precautions a step additional: Ought to we all be wearing face shields? Plastic face shields are most often worn by nurses or doctors who are very close to sufferers who could also be uncovered to droplets that include the coronavirus. Yet, lately people have been experimenting with creating their own face shields for everyday use. We requested the experts: Is this really vital?


Ought to individuals be wearing plastic face masks?
Two infectious illness experts have been divided on the efficacy of wearing plastic face shields in public.

In response to Shan Soe-Lin, a lecturer in world affairs at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut and trained immunologist who spoke to TODAY earlier in April about the efficacy of face coverings, the plastic face shields should not essential outside of a clinical setting, and do not have to be worn by the general public.


"The typical individual such as you or me, social distancing and wearing a cloth masks accurately, is doing more than enough," Soe-Lin said, adding that a plastic shield wouldn't filter air and would just block droplets from hitting your face, especially if not worn at the side of a cloth face covering.

Nonetheless, Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar on the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Safety in Baltimore, Maryland who focuses on emerging infectious illnesses and pandemic preparedness, said that the plastic masks can be helpful while experts work to find out the efficacy of material face coverings.

"A face shield can serve as a physical barrier to the particles you emanate when you breathe, and as a physical barrier to particles hitting you when someone coughs or sneezes," said Adalja. "This is something folks have been trying to think about as an improvement to the fabric masks recommendation."

Since there are still shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) across the country, Soe-Lin warned towards purchasing face shields that could otherwise go to health care professionals and other front-line employees.

Each Adalja and Soe-Lin said that plastic face shields could be made at home, however didn't have recommendations on how to complete the process or what supplies must be used.

A video showing the right way to make plastic face shields out of Polar Seltzer's two-liter bottles has been considered nearly 30,000 occasions on YouTube.

Adalja said that shields may be cleaned at house, though folks would have to be careful not to transmit the virus from the shield to their hands. He advised using a disinfecting cleaning agent, washing and drying the masks, after which washing one's arms to make sure the virus is not further spread