Vaporized Hydrogen Peroxide Decontamination of N95 Respirators in a Dedicated Animal Research Facility for Reuse During a Novel Coronavirus Pandemic.

Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, health care systems and safety providers have faced an unprecedented challenge of limited access to personal protective equipment (PPE) to conduct patient and public care. In federal emergencies, reuse of PPE after disinfection can occur by processes, like vaporized hydrogen peroxide (VHP), recommended by the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention. We identified a vacant animal holding facility at our institution to repurpose into a regional VHP decontamination center. Methods: The facility is a multiroom, 20 000 ft Results: Fogging cycles eliminated 6-log Discussion and Conclusion: Our study determined that a variety of N95 respirator types and sizes were able to be cleared of potential bacterial and viral agents using VHP in a controlled fog/dwell/exhaust cycle. This repurposed animal facility has the capacity to decontaminate up to 6700 respirators daily, which will address the predicted surge of COVID-19 cases in the state, and ultimately allow each respirator to be reused multiple times. There is no other public site in the region with our capacity to offset the continued supply chain issues for PPE needs.