National agencies are asking health care providers and customers to know about scammers that are exploiting the COVID-19 episode to sell fake supplies online. As the medicinal services industry keeps on battling with PPE deficiencies, dental specialists should find a way to be sure that the provisions they are buying are authorized.
Fake Masks:
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health has given an admonition to online commercial centers that are selling fake respirators. The items are as a rule dishonestly promoted and sold as NIOSH-endorsed and may not be equipped for giving appropriate respiratory protection to health care professionals, as per the statement released on April 21.
Dental professionals can identify a NIOSH-approved respirator by:
- A NIOSH approval label on or within the packaging of the respirator
- An abbreviated approval on the facepiece itself
- An approval number, which can be verified on the NIOSH Certified Equipment List or the NIOSH Trusted-Source page
NIOSH-approved respirators will always have one of the following designations: N95, N99, N100, R95, R99, R100, P95, P99, P100. NIOSH offers the following tips to identify if a respirator is counterfeit:
- No markings at all on the filtering facepiece respirator
- No approval (TC) number on filtering facepiece respirator or headband
- No NIOSH markings
- NIOSH spelled incorrectly
- Presence of decorative fabric or other decorative add-ons (e.g., sequins)
- Claims for the of approval for children (NIOSH does not approve any type of respiratory protection for children)
- Filtering facepiece respirator has ear loops instead of headbands
Find a list of known counterfeit respirators on the NIOSH website.
FDA issues emergency use authorization for non-NIOSH endorsed respirators :
While health care professionals are urged to use NIOSH-approved equipments, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has given an emergency use of authorization for non-NIOSH affirmed respirators during the COVID-19 flare-up — as long as they are utilized as per CDC recommendations.
For the most current CDC proposals on optimizing respirator use, visit CDC's site page: Strategies forOptimizing the Supply of N95 Respirators.
Fake COVID-19 disinfectants :
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