Research conducted at an EPA facility on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus shows that expired and sterilized used N95 masks are still very good at protecting wearers.
With so many options, infection prevention experts at the UNC Medical Center set out to gather evidence on the fitted filtration efficiency of dozens of different types of masks and mask modifications, including masks sterilized for reuse, expired masks, novel masks sourced from domestic and overseas sources, and homemade masks.
Their data, published today in JAMA Internal Medicine, show that reused, sterilized N95 masks and very out-of-date N95 masks retain their effectiveness at protecting healthcare workers from COVID-19 infection.
To assess mask fitted filtration effectiveness, Emily Sickbert-Bennett, PhD, director of Infection Prevention at UNC Medical Center and colleagues turned to someone she knew she could trust: her dad, William Bennett, PhD, professor of medicine, who leads the Mucociliary Clearance and Aerosol Research Laboratory at the UNC Center for Environmental Medicine, Asthma, and Lung Biology (CEMALB).
Read the full story in Science Magazine, written by Carleigh Gabryel.