The AHA today announced a national initiative to secure millions of masks for health care workers, including physicians, nurses and caregivers treating COVID-19 patients and at greater risk due to the nationwide shortage of personal protective equipment. The effort will facilitate private sector partnerships to address these shortages in the fight against COVID-19.

Earlier the month, Providence, a 51-hospital system in seven western states, began the initiative in Washington state and secured significant support from individuals, community organizations and local manufacturers. Providence will continue its local effort while the AHA brings the initiative to scale and facilitates new relationships between providers in need of masks and manufacturers with the capacity to produce them.

“Our health care heroes on the front lines have an immediate need for personal protective equipment and we have to push on all cylinders to get these items produced and into the field,” said AHA President and CEO Rick Pollack. “This challenge builds on the incredible efforts of Providence to bring this call to action to the entire nation.”

For more information on how to support the 100 Million Mask Challenge, visit aha.org/100millionmasks.

Related News Articles

Headline
The National Institutes of Health Oct. 10 released results of a study that found that infection from COVID-19 in the first wave of the pandemic appeared to…
Chairperson's File
Autumn is here, and that means cooler weather and also the start of flu season.We know the best way to prevent influenza is to get a flu vaccine. The Centers…
Headline
The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases Sept. 25 released a survey showing that less than one in five U.S. adults are concerned about themselves or a…
Headline
The Food and Drug Administration Aug. 22 granted emergency use authorization for two new combined COVID-19 and influenza tests. The Nano-Check Influenza-COVID-…
Headline
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's COVID-19 data tracker shows an 18.1% test positivity rate for the week ending Aug. 10, the highest it has been…
Headline
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Aug. 13 issued an advisory alerting of an uptick of cases of parvovirus B19 across the U.S. Parvovirus B19 is a…