Counterfeit N95 face masks are on the rise and according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no guarantee they provide the same protection as masks approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), the agency in the United States that regulates filtering facepiece respirators.

In an article published in Medscape, a clear sign of a counterfeit mask is the presence of an FDA logo or mention of a Food and Drug Administration approval or registration; the FDA does not regulate face masks, only NIOSH does. And NIOSH does not approve face masks for children, so if there is any mention of child safety, that’s another sign of a bogus mask.

Stay the course, stay well, mask up, get vaccinated, and stay tuned!