Of almost 200 KN95 masks imported from China and tested by an independent lab, 60 to 70 percent fell short of what their packaging promised.
ECRI Institute, a Pennsylvania patient safety group, released the findings on Sept. 22, 2020. The masks came from 15 Chinese manufacturers that supply major U.S. health systems and hospitals. ECRI responded with a hazard alert, a step its president and CEO, Marcus Schabacker, said is normally kept for serious situations that health care professionals need to know about immediately.
The testing began in April, Schabacker said, after medical facilities that had started buying from Chinese suppliers asked for it.
A flood of new suppliers
A KN95 is the Chinese counterpart of the N95, which U.S. authorities certify. The name implies it filters 95 percent of airborne viral particles. During the pandemic shortage, thousands of Chinese manufacturing startups moved into medical supplies, and ECRI said KN95s became among the most common medical products imported into the United States. Schabacker put the number of mask suppliers in China at almost 35,000.
“We’re finding that many aren’t safe and effective against the spread of COVID-19,” he said. He urged health care providers to do more due diligence before buying masks that are not made or certified in America.
ECRI found a design problem as well. Many of the masks use ear loops. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the federal agency that oversees workplace safety, requires a head or neckband that holds the mask more tightly against the face.
Sources
Sources
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- China-Made KN95 Masks are Significantly Inferior, Endangering…
