Washington state hospitals unknowingly bought 300,000 fake N95 masks for their healthcare workers Aylin Woodward The Washington State Hospital Association unknowingly bought 300,000 counterfeit 3M masks in December. The association distributed the fake masks to 40 hospitals, where healthcare workers used them. The masks had the appropriate paperwork and passed physical inspection and testing.
Healthcare workers in at least 40 hospitals across Washington state may have been using fake N95 masks since December.
Mask manufacturer 3M informed the Washington State Hospital Association (WSHA) on Friday that some respirator masks being bought and used by US hospitals were counterfeit. The Department of Homeland Security told WSHA in an email that it had identified a vendor that may have provided the hospital association with counterfeit 3M masks.