CATER Mask Decisions

December 22, 2020

CATER 95 Masks can Save Many Lives in the Next Nine Months

Can Camfil be a Producer of CATER 95 Masks to Meet the Huge Need?

Armbrust American Receives ASTM Level 3 Rating for Its Masks

New COVID Bill Includes Funds to Improve School Ventilation

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CATER 95 Masks can Save Many Lives in the Next Nine Months

Vaccinations are likely to reduce virus transmission by over  40% in the next nine months. But many lives will still be lost. CATER masks can be a big contributor to reducing these losses.   the impact will depend on how quickly they can be made available. Two scenarios based on a low and high estimate of how quickly production can be increased are shown in the graph.  In either case CATER 95 masks will save hundreds of thousands of  lives which might otherwise be lost in the period.

·         Total = virus transmitted. This decreases as vaccinations take effect

·         Cloth =  virus eliminated by inefficient loose fitting masks

·         CATER L = virus eliminated with minimum ramp up of CATER 95 production

·         CATER H = virus eliminated with maximum ramp up of CATER 95 production

·         CATER A = increased CATER 95 sales for air pollution, health and wildfire protection

Under this scenario CATER masks make a big contribution to COVID mitigation in the next nine months. Suppliers then divert part of the production to other air contamination reduction needs. Total CATER mask production would be modestly lower in the July-December period but  sales would steadily increase in 2022 to meet the large non COVID needs.

Can Camfil be a Producer of CATER 95 Masks to Meet the Huge Need?

Camfil seems to have the capability to quickly make enough CATER 95 masks to help meet the urgent needs McIlvaine projects for the next nine months.

In March 2020, Camfil started helping the healthcare community by manufacturing and testing respiratory protection. The hospital environment is one of the core competence areas for Camfil. They have successfully delivered filter and ventilation solutions to various hospitals and care facilities around the globe in the past many decades including operating theaters, laboratories, reception rooms, intensive care units, and pharmacies.

Camfil has delivered CamProtect respiratory protection, primarily to the Stockholm Region along with other institutions in the healthcare. The product CamProtect is now CE-certified by Force Certification A/S. Initial production was 100,000 masks per week.

The idea for a mask took shape within Camfil when the corona outbreak first emerged. As experts in air filtration solutions, ideas for respiratory protection masks began to come in from Camfil offices in Malaysia, Spain, Slovakia, Sweden, and others. The project then gained momentum through Camfil’s Global Tech Center in Trosa, Sweden with other areas of the Swedish organization. Since respiratory protection is not part of Camfil’s regular manufacturing output, Camfil kicked off a large-scale internal initiative to get up and running with a prototype. Experts from product development, testing, materials, purchasing, and production participated. The prototype was then tested in one of  the laboratories. 

Product development in the filter industry usually takes several months or even years. For this fast pace development, it took plenty of hard work to redeploy production lines while finding partners and suppliers who could help make the idea a reality as soon as possible. The production started in Trosa, Sweden, and CamProtect respiratory protection masks became a reality. That was the beginning of the product CamProtect.

There is now a huge opportunity for CATER 95 masks. The question is whether Camfil has the interest and capability to provide this reusable type mask on the same accelerated basis that it achieved with the disposable mask

Armbrust American Receives ASTM Level 3 Rating for Its Masks

With the country still in dire need of personal protective equipment during the pandemic, U.S. manufacturing startup Armbrust American announced that its entire line of disposable surgical masks has received an ASTM Level 3 rating, the highest rating for filtration effectiveness available in the world. Additionally, the company has opened pre-orders for N95 respirator masks, as well as implemented updates to its surgical masks.

Armbrust American's Texas-based medical mask production facility.

An alarming number of disposable face mask products available to consumers do not actually provide the level of filtration required to protect against the novel coronavirus, which is why having both ASTM Level 3 rating and being FDA listed are so important. Obtaining a Level 3 rating means Armbrust American masks have passed performance tests for fluid penetration, bacterial filtration, flammability, blood spatter filtration, and breathability. Testing was performed by Nelson Laboratories LLC and done in compliance with the FDA's Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) regulations.

"The key difference between Armbrust American masks and what you'll find on retail shelves is a promise that you're buying the safest surgical masks in the world," said Founder and CEO Lloyd Armbrust. "You're also buying from a trusted and reliable manufacturer that's constantly making improvements to its products, unlike established competitors who have little financial incentive and don't sell directly to American citizens like we do."

Six months after launching its first factory, Armbrust American continues to demonstrate that commitment to innovation. The latest example is an upgrade to add a newly developed secure-fit nose bridge to its surgical masks, allowing the wearer to create a more secure seal around the face. The company also recently activated its first line of N95 Respirator masks, which are now available for pre-order.


New COVID Bill Includes Funds to Improve School Ventilation

The $900 billion COVID-19 stimulus deal approved by Congress includes billions for elementary and secondary schools, including dollars to help with improving ventilation and air quality during the pandemic.

A total of $54.3 billion has been secured for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. This will send formula funding to states and school districts so they can respond to the coronavirus crisis.

Those dollars can be used for school facilities repairs and improvements, like heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems projects to improve indoor air quality, as well as addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness and children and youth in foster care.

Like schools across the country, districts in Massachusetts have been working to improve HVAC systems so students can safely learn in classrooms. In Worcester, city officials continue to work on a $15 million project to upgrade both school and city air systems. Students in the district, which is the second-largest in Massachusetts, remain in remote learning.

In total, Worcester has as of last week received more than $39 million in funding to address COVID-19 in the community, according to city documents. Of that funding, about $23 million was provided for city use and $16 million is for the Worcester Public Schools.

Though, those dollars do not include what Worcester anticipates to receive through the Federal Emergency Management Agency Public Assistance Program. Funding through that program does not have a limit on the total amount Worcester is eligible to receive but will provide 75% funding for eligible costs. The city administration is working with a Massachusetts-sponsored consultant to prepare and submit eligible expenses for reimbursement. So far, the city has incurred about $2.3 million in expenses officials believe will be eligible for reimbursement.

Worcester plans to complement FEMA PA funds with the Coronavirus Relief Fund Municipal Program (CvRF-MP) funding, through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Administration and Finance, to provide the required 25% match. Those CvRF-MP funds will also be used for expenses related to COVID-19 that were accounted for in the annual budget and that are not eligible under the FEMA PA. The largest project in that category is the HVAC upgrade project, according to city documents.

All expenses incurred before Dec. 30 for that HVAC project will be applied to the CvRF-MP grant, except for $1 million, which will be funded through one of the Worcester Public Schools grants, according to the documents.

Earlier this month, as the Northampton Public Schools worked to transition from fully remote to hybrid learning, officials said the district had purchased 385 high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) air filters for classrooms and installed more than a dozen MERV filters in school HVAC systems. More than $200,000 was spent to upgrade the air filtration systems.

In the federal relief package, billions of dollars are slated for other educational needs beyond helping schools with facilities repairs and improvements. In addition to the $600 direct checks, which will arrive to Americans within weeks, the deal includes enhanced federal jobless payments of $300 weekly until the spring, hundreds of billions of dollars in small business loans, and aid to health care facilities as vaccines are distributed.