The Department of Homeland Security issued a fraud alert on Friday to the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA), stating that 40 hospitals across the state may have received fake masks as part of a 2 million mask shipment that arrived in December, WSHA President and CEO Cassie Sauer told CNN on Monday.
The hospital association alerted the 40 hospitals, but many of the masks had already been used, said Sauer.
“They look, feel, fit and smell like a 3M mask,” said Sauer.
The masks were purchased by hospitals and by WSHA to distribute to their members, according to the association. More than $ 1 million was spent on the purchase.
The hospital association is meeting with DHS and 3M to determine the next possible steps. DHS was notified directly by 3M, the mask manufacturers.
It is not known whether counterfeits are as effective as a real N95 mask. However, Sauer said he had not seen an increase in Covid-19 cases in hospitals that used them.
In a statement to CNN, 3M says it has been working with “law enforcement and customs agencies to prevent the sale and manufacture” of fake masks. The company said it launched a “global effort to combat fraud, counterfeiting and price increases to help protect the public from those trying to exploit the demand for 3M’s essential products during a pandemic.”
It was confirmed that N95 respirators were “purchased from distributors unrelated to 3M” and “were not authentic 3M products”, according to the company’s statement.
The company “recommends purchasing our products only from an authorized 3M distributor.”
Sauer declined to say where the association bought the masks, but that it was from a distributor that the association often uses.
The filter works by capturing neutral particles like bacteria and viruses before they pass through the mask, protecting the user and the people around them. It is similar to how socks can stick to a blanket in the dryer. The N95 mask also fits securely on the face, eliminating most of the leakage that can occur with a wide cloth or paper mask.