Pharmacy Daily | Pharmacists need face masks – FIP

PHARMACY staff are being encouraged to wear surgical masks and practice regular hand and face hygiene to minimise their risk of contracting COVID-19.

International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP) Practice Development and Transformation Lead, Gonzalo Soasa Pinto, told a COVID-19 webinar last week, that pharmacists were "considered to be at medium exposure risk" to the virus.

"FIP considers that all pharmacy staff should wear a medical mask to protect themselves from infection and to avoid disease transmission in case someone within the pharmacy staff becomes infected," he said.

"We have a duty as health professionals not to infect others ourselves.

"Pharmacy staff depending on the roles that they play within the pharmacy may need to wear additional personal protective equipment (PPE), such as gloves, a gown, face masks, goggles or a face shield.

"[However], the use of a mask alone is not sufficient to provide and adequate level of protection, so hand and face hygiene should be performed frequently."

While Pinto urged pharmacy staff to use surgical-grade masks, he said respirator (N95) masks were unlikely to be necessary.

He also flagged concerns about wider use of face masks by members of the public.

"We have to understand that the use of masks may create a false sense of security," he said.

"People often, by wearing a mask, neglect other essential measures such as the handwashing, or they feel that because they are wearing a mask they can be closer to other people... these are behaviours that are actually riskier in term of self-contamination and infection."

Pinto also noted that mass use of masks could exacerbate supply shortages for health workers and patients who need them most.