Posted on 03/26/2020 6:59:21 PM PDT by yesthatjallen
Nearly 1.5 million N95 respirator masks, a medical product that is crucial in hospitals fight against the coronavirus, haven't been shipped because they are past their expiration date, according to The Washington Post.
The masks are reportedly part of Customs and Border Protection’s emergency stock. In a meeting Wednesday about what to do with the masks, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials decided to turn the masks over to the Transportation Security Administration, which has demanded masks of its own, according to the Post's sources.
The sources told the paper that CBP has no plans of giving the masks to hospitals or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Manufacturers of the masks have said that the masks stay effective if stored properly and that the largest problem with older masks is that the elastic bands on the mask can weaken, which prevents a proper seal from being created against a user’s face.
SNIP
(Excerpt) Read more at thehill.com ...
kan I haz hazmat suit?
Guess I can stop blaming 0bum for his lack of doing something good for America.
They should at least been ready to go at the first moment...had China did their job.
SEIU has 39 million they’ve been keeping hidden until DOJ put them on notice.
???
I have a package of 10 N95 masks. They were in a sealed plastic bag and kept in the barn for the past 15 years, perhaps longer. There is nothing wrong with the two masks we removed a few days ago. The elastic is fine.
Frankly, if I did experience an issue with fitment, it would be easy enough to use thin strips of Velcro to remedy the issue.
Here you go: https://youtu.be/JoCLZaLMSos?t=52
Cue the panic buying of rubber bands!
WTH?!!
Yes, my experience is that once they're out of the package, the elastic begins to degrade.
That's why you have a stapler, pair of scissors and more elastic.
Literally a minute or two to re-activate.
Nobody even realizes you can simply replace degraded elastic with new elastic.
If you don't want to use rubber bands go to a fabric store. They have spools of elastic rope.
People who can't think outside the box drive me mad.
I’m sure the USPS could have used them. Not just the window clerks who are face to face with the public all day long, but city carriers who frequently encounter the public during their delivery.
Plus they have rubber bands - no need to worry about bad elastic.
Look, you may think it's no big deal, but I'll tell you - when the elastic on my briefs wears out, it can be pretty uncomfortable.
Are flu and VARDS correlated?
Vaping Associated Respiratory Distress Syndrome VARDS?
I’ll take some, even if they are *expired*.
How ridiculous.
You guys didn’t hear about the 39 million masks found today by a union that’s selling them for $5/mask? Google it. It’s real.
Yeah - I have 10 masks for the wife and I from a few years ago. I bought a huge bag of rubber bands in the beginning of February from Staples. End of February I bought some UV resistant bands online.
If the rubber straps have been degraded, they can be replaced; with rubber bands even.
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