Hospitals in Washington state found that their supply of N95 masks contained counterfeits after 3M, a company that makes the masks, said on Saturday that at least part of the vital stock for Covid-19 frontline employees was fake.
The Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) said that 3M notified them of possible counterfeit masks circulating in the national supply of personal protective equipment. The association then asked hospitals on Friday to remove the masks from their inventory.
WSHA sent samples to 3M’s fraud department, where the company confirmed that some of the masks were counterfeit, according to a statement from the hospital’s association.
“It’s an amazing feeling … Just to think that there are people who will do it – making the counterfeit personal protective equipment that we need so much during this pandemic,” said Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the hospital association, to the NBC affiliate. News KING5.
Although the group has yet to confirm the number of counterfeits, they purchased 300,000 masks from a supposed third-party supplier of personal protective equipment, which amounted to about $ 1.4 million. Of the hundreds of thousands of masks purchased, 60,000 have not been distributed.
Sauer said that all masks had “proper paperwork” and passed “physical inspection” and “tests”.
“These N95s are precious resources that we need to keep the team safe. It is reprehensible that counterfeiters are selling counterfeit products, ”said Sauer.
3M signaled several batch numbers, located on the individual masks and in the boxes in which they were sent, potentially used by counterfeiters. According to WSHA, some of the lot numbers were among the shares purchased by Washington state hospitals and the hospital association.
The group said it is awaiting 3M’s investigation of the remaining batch numbers. So far, dozens of hospitals in Washington state have been affected.
Although counterfeit supplies are arriving in the state, 3M has shipped an order for 1 million masks to help fill supplies, according to the hospital’s association.