


"WSHA: Hundreds of thousands of counterfeit N95 masks purchased by Washington hospitals" - news article.Article notes the fakes looked like good counterfeits. "Millions of Counterfeit N95 Masks Were Bought in 5 States, U.S.On July 14th 2021, 3M issued a counterfeit alert, noting that millions of counterfeit 3M Auras had been seized in this case, the 3M Aura 1870+.

Counterfeitsĭue to widespread demand from the COVID-19 pandemic and the popularity of the respirator series, the 3M Auras have been frequently counterfeit. 3M chose study participants with a range of face shapes (NIOSH Bivariate panel). In 2021, 3M conducted a study of fit test pass rates in their lab and found a 93% pass rate on the three common 3M Aura models. In a small study of 60 anaesthetists, the 3M Aura 1870+ had a 5/5 (100%) pass rate, compared to a pass rate of 3/7 (43%) for the 3M 8210 (typical N95 cup style) and a pass rate of 1/9 (11%) for other typical N95 respirators. In a study in untrained individuals, the 3M Aura 1862+ had a fit test pass rate of 82.5%, whereas the typical N95 cup-style respirators had pass rates of 73%, 67%, and 23% (and the KN95 had a pass rate of 0%). Note that studies show that with traditional N95 designs most people (76-86%) get to around 10% or less inward leakage (~ 99% effective filtration). This means that the average person putting on a 3M Aura may be more likely to achieve < 1% inward leakage (~ 99% effective filtration) when wearing the 3M Aura than with other N95 designs. The 3M Aura respirators appear to have a higher fit test pass rate than most traditional N95 designs (e.g. The 3M Aura design is reminiscent of the "boat-style" KF94 masks.
3M AURA MASK REVIEW SERIAL
It was replaced by the 1870+Īccording to a trademark filing, the first use in commerce of "Aura" by 3M was in January of 2012, so that may be when the Aura line was first released (USPTO trademark serial # 85240142).
