During the COVID-19 pandemic personal protective equipment, especially medical face masks and respirators, were in short supply. Many new suppliers entered the market hoping to fill the need however were unaware of the testing requirements needed for, the FDA issued emergency use authorizations (EUA) for face mask approval. Laboratories and hospitals all over the world came up with novel solutions for providing personal protective equipment for their employees, including techniques for decontamination of N95 respirators which were in short supply. Decontamination techniques were utilized to render previously single use respirators safe for re-use. These techniques were evaluated and emergency approvals for use of these techniques were issued. Testing laboratories scrambled to keep up with increasing demand from new and existing suppliers, and to aid in the efforts to determine new and better ways to render these products safe for re-use.

This webinar will give some history of the changes that have ensued due to the pandemic and teach you about the differences between medical face masks and respirators. We will discuss the testing that is required for approval of each of these products, and re-processing techniques for extending the useful life of some products.