FDA Revokes Emergency Use Authorizations for Certain Respirators and Decontamination Systems

In the earlier days of the COVID-19 pandemic, an emergency use authorization (EUA) from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was necessary for the use of non-National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) approved respirators as well as decontamination reduction systems to disinfect disposable respirators.

Now, these conditions are no longer an issue, making NIOSH-approved N95 masks more accessible to healthcare workers. The FDA has announced the revocation of EUAs for imported, non-NIOSH-approved respirators, as well as decontamination and bioburden reduction systems. This is also supplemented by an increase in domestically manufactured NIOSH-approved N95s available throughout the country.

The CDC urges health care organizations to transition away from crisis capacity conservation strategies that were implemented earlier during the pandemic.