Counterfeit N95 Masks Found At Dozens Of WA Hospitals

WASHINGTON — The Washington State Hospital Association has alerted hospitals across the state to check their supply of N95 respirators, as they may contain counterfeit masks.

The hospital association says it was contacted late Friday by mask manufacturer 3M, whose fraud department was investigating claims of phony N95s. Several hospitals then volunteered to ship masks to the 3M Fraud Department — who quickly found that at least some of the masks were counterfeits.

3M then identified several bulk mask purchases that likely contained fraudulent masks. According to the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA), the issue impacts dozens of hospitals and potentially hundreds of thousands of masks.

“These masks had the appropriate paperwork and passed physical inspection and testing,” said Cassie Sauer, WSHA President. “These N95s are precious resources we need to keep staff safe. It is reprehensible that counterfeiters are selling fake goods.”

It's unknown if the fake N95 are less safe than the legitimate products.

Following the discovery, WSHA has asked all 115 of Washington's hospitals to check their mask supplies for counterfeits.

As the Seattle Times reports, state hospitals likely spent between $5 and $8 million on the phony masks, and 3M is creating a rush order a 1 million new N95 masks to send to Washington to replace the counterfeits.