The efforts of makers of medical garments, face masks and other protective apparel equipment (PPE) have been nothing short of extraordinary these past 18 months. While much of the world shut down, these manufacturers went into overdrive, increasing production, hiring new staff and, in many cases, learning new manufacturing methods.

As this issue goes to press, the world continues to face surging Coronavirus cases in many parts of the world as vaccination numbers remain low in some places and the Delta variant continues to increase the rate of contagion. Just this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the U.S. has reinstated indoor mask policies, saying that even vaccinated adults should wear masks in places where the disease is surging. Also, the agency recommends that masks be worn by all school children—no matter their vaccination status—in September.

The frustration that many feel with these developments cannot be overstated. It has been a long road since the first cases of Coronavirus were reported in late 2019 and 2020 and the approvals of several effective vaccines this spring were seen as a sign of good things to come. The vaccines were expected to stop the rate of infections and lead to the end of this global pandemic. However, limited vaccination supply in some countries and low acceptance rates in other areas has allowed the virus to continue to spread and even surge in some places. In some areas hospitalizations are as high or higher than they were at the peak of the pandemic.

The problem is...many people simply do not trust the vaccines, feeling that the risks associated with vaccination are stronger than the risks of getting the Coronavirus—at least for them. That is simply not true. The vaccines have been developed and tested under more rigorous conditions than any of their predecessors. Meanwhile, little—if nothing—is known about the long-term effects of Covid-19. Covid survivors report lingering symptoms like loss of smell and taste, headaches, brain fog, breathing problems and more months after infection and is not at all clear what the long term impact of the disease might be.

Our industry is an industry of scientists. Just like the nonwovens industry rallied at the start of the pandemic to provide safety and protection materials to front line workers, now is the time to encourage our peers to help stop this virus by getting vaccinated, not just to protect themselves but to protect their community. No other vaccination in the history of vaccines has been scrutinized to this level and it is our best chance to put this era of history behind us.

It’s time to trust the science.


Karen McIntyre
Editor
kmcintyre@rodmanmedia.com