Thread by @RahulRajkumar11

During a pandemic there can be glimmers of light. I am proud to announce that we have brought production of #N95 masks (beginning to end) to #NC. THREAD

mediacenter.bcbsnc.com/news/made-in-n…

The #MadeinNC collaboration will produce nearly 2 million N95 respirators per year to fill the unmet need for #NC frontline health providers during #COVID19.

Since the onset of #COVID19, demand for N95 respirators and other PPE has outpaced current global manufacturing capabilities. N95s are still scarce and many health organizations confront the issue of counterfeits and price gauging, among other obstacles.

But we knew we could change that. @NCState’s Nonwovens Institute, @freudenbergpm, @UNC_Health_Care, @nchospitals, @NCMedSoc, and @BlueCrossNC have joined forces to stand up a new local manufacturing and supply chain, and create new jobs in #NC. What an accomplishment.

This collaboration across health care, academic and manufacturing sectors ensures the expertise needed to achieve careful production and distribution at the highest quality and safety standards to increase equity in access to masks, especially in communities that need them most.

We are in this together. Our most precious resource in health care is our people – especially clinicians and frontline health workers who need #PPE.

We each have a job to do what it takes to make the health system of tomorrow better able to deliver on the promise of high value, affordable health care for all North Carolinians.

More details to come from @nchospitals, @NCMedSoc on how health care providers will be able to procure masks when they become available. @ncdhhs @myncafp @ncpeds @azaleakim