EE... again, the level of protection must be commensurate with the level of risk.
If you're wandering around in Cowboys Stadium this Sunday, you really don't need any protection at all. If you're going to be working in the ER at Presbyterian, you might like to have an N95 mask, but you probably don't need it.
If you're an nurse or doc in Presbyterian's ER dealing with patients who are actively vomiting and feverish but probably not Ebola, you'll want a higher level of protection yet, but still not the level needed for people providing hands-on care for active Ebola victims.
In my little ER out here in the sticks, where we currently have a minor epidemic of viral gastroenteritis (vomiting and low-grade fever, sound familiar?) and a reaaaaallllllyyy low chance of seeing Ebola, we're going with a more moderate level of protection. But we're also educating our public... stay home unless you're vomiting for more than 24-36 hours, etc... and we've got equipment and procedures ready should someone come in with true Ebola symptoms.
This situation SHOULD be manageable with relatively little fuss & bother, but as I've been saying for some time, the golfer-in-chief and his minions had better get a handle on the travellers coming in from Africa and start putting some serious resources into eradicating the outbreak in west Africa.
Many thanks for the info Doc. I've got plenty of N95 masks on hand and will admit to having just placed an order for 8 N100's. Sounds like I'm gtg.
