The masks are fakes. They don’t provide adequate protection. And they’re being handed to front-line caregivers. An AP investigation tracks counterfeit medical masks from China to U.S. hospitals.
“It’s just unprecedented,” said Steve Francis, HSI’s assistant director for global trade investigations. “These are really bad times for people who are out there trying to do the right thing and be helpful, and they end up being exploited.”
Ear loop masks are less expensive to manufacture because the straps are attached with glue to the face covering, while headbands on genuine N95s, also called respirators, must be stitched, stapled or soldered to establish a tighter seal over the nose and mouth. On their own website, Shanghai Dasheng warns: “WE DON’T HAVE ANY DISTRIBUTORS, DEALERS OR BRANCH FACTORIES. BEWARE OF COUNTERFEIT!”
Shanghai Dasheng is one of the largest manufacturers of authentic N95s in the world and one of only a handful in China certified to make NIOSH approved, U.S. medical-grade N95s. “It’s a little scary that it had gone through what we understood was an aggressive customs investigation for export, and an aggressive customs import by the U.S. and still got through,” Tighe said. “It’s been a real lesson.”Even for those looking out for fakes, it has been difficult to keep up with changing federal guidelines for medical-grade masks.
“It’s terrible, just terrible,” said David Schildmeier, spokesman for the Massachusetts Nursing Association.
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