The #MasksNOW Coalition says, ‘Yes, We Can!’
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Americans are becoming more educated about the extreme shortages of basic medical necessities required to reduce the risk of exposure by those medical professionals on the frontlines.
While many companies are shifting their manufacturing facilities to make everything from surgical masks to ventilators, the public is clamoring to help.
Enter The Masks Now Coalition, founded when hundreds of Americans, acting individually, started making masks in response to the urgent shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE). These individuals joined forces to create an umbrella organization to address the design and logistics involved in getting quality-made masks into the right hands.
Led by just 19 organizers, #MasksNOW has more than 10,000 volunteers in every state, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico — working to answer the call from more than 1,100 organizations, including more than 350 hospitals in 46 states which have made public appeals for homesewn masks.
There has been a lot of conversation in the media about different types of masks, and it’s true that these home sewists are not making N95 masks. Yet, some of the cotton mask patterns they are following use CDC guidelines and have been developed to be both effective and easy to sew. These fabric masks are effective and they both conserve and extend the life of manufactured masks.
In fact, a 2013 Cambridge University study found that “cotton-blend masks are 80% as effective at filtration as a surgical mask, and appropriate for emergency use during an influenza pandemic.”
In addition to hospitals being in dire need of masks, many states are now asking the public to don masks whenever they must go out in order to reduce exposure and take control of their own health, saving manufactured masks for medical personnel.
How You Can Help
#MasksNOW needs more volunteers, even if you can’t sew!
They need people who can make calls, organize deliveries, route supplies, do graphic design, and yes, sew masks. Fill out this simple form and pitch in to help those brave people who risk their lives to save others.
They could also use donations and amplification.
Please follow @MasksNow and share #MasksNOW content on your social media channels to help get the word out.
Vult Lab supports this cause. That’s why we are lending our talents, time and resources to this important effort. Please support this group in any way you can! www.masksnow.org
