A Saskatoon lab has partnered with the Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) to decontaminate and reuse N95 respiratory masks that are normally thrown out after each use.
This week, the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization-International Vaccine Centre (VIDO-InterVac) at the University of Saskatoon tested a decontamination procedure on several dozen N95 masks for the SHA.
VIDO-InterVac is using vaporized hydrogen peroxide sterilization to decontaminate the masks, which the lab says will “provide an emergency N95 back-up supply for hospitals if the need arises during the pandemic.” The same method has been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration after Duke University published a study showing its effectiveness.