COVID-19 Global Pandemic Planning: Decontamination and Reuse Processes for N95 Respirators

Douglas Jay Perkins; Steven Villescas; Terry H Wu; Timothy B Muller; Steven Bradfute; Ivy Foo-Hurwitz; Qiuying Cheng; Hannah Wilcox; Myissa Weiss; Chris Bartlett; Jens Langsjoen; Phil Seidenberg

Rapid global dissemination of a novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by an the enveloped nonsegmented positive-sense RNA virus, SARS-CoV-2, has overwhelmed healthcare systems around the world. The rapid increase in clinical cases presenting at healthcare facilities when the disease propagates in a particular geographic region requires a rapid response by the healthcare system. The primary means of protecting frontline healthcare personnel (HCP) from contracting COVID-19 is through the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), such as N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). Based on the rapid spread of the virus around the globe, there is a high-volume demand for the continuous supply of PPE. The consequences of such a global demand has created a significant strain on the supply-chain of N95 respirators and other PPE. The shortage of PPE raises substantial concerns for healthcare facilities and HCP. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has implemented an ongoing and continually updated release of information to optimize the supply of N95 respirators with most recent updates on 4 April 2020 1 . While it is without question that reuse of N95 respirators (and other PPE) would be obviated if an adequate supply were available, creative strategies are required when there is an imbalance in the supply and demand. Given the current global shortage of PPE, creative solutions are immediately required to mitigate the risk of exposure of HCP to SARS-CoV-2. In anticipation of such a shortage, we began exploring the most viable and safe methods for sterilizing PPE for reuse in late February 2020 at the University of New Mexico (UNM). During this short period of time, we have quickly learned the importance of having concerted and coordinated efforts devoted to the overall workflow for the safe collection, storage, decontamination, and distribution of reprocessed PPE, along with requisite safety training of staff who perform the reprocessing.