The Washington State Hospital Association said Feb. 8 it discovered counterfeit N95 masks were sent to dozens of hospitals across the state.
The association said it received a notice from 3M about counterfeit N95 masks circulating in the national supply of personal protective equipment. Hospitals in the state submitted their masks to 3M for analysis, and the manufacturer confirmed that some of the masks were counterfeit.
The hospital association said it has asked potentially affected hospitals to pull the masks from their supplies while the 3M fraud department investigates. 3M flagged several lot numbers as potentially counterfeit.
The hospital association is still awaiting analysis of some lots of masks. The issue affects dozens of hospitals across the state and the supply of hundreds of thousands of N95 masks.
"These N95s are precious resources we need to keep staff safe. It is reprehensible that counterfeiters are selling fake goods," said Cassie Sauer, president and CEO of the hospital association.
Read the full news release here.