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|  Published Tuesday, July 14, 2020
Social Security recalls disposable
masks bought during the pandemic
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
On Monday, Social Security said that it had begun a process of recovering disposable surgical masks that were handed over to health workers.
According to the authorities, the masks that must be returned were purchased in the lot 20200428-001, which must be changed by the supplier in the event of a possible labeling error in its packaging.
The request for the return of the masks was made to all the health units in the country that have supplies from that lot. A material error was identified in the inspection of the packaging box labeling, said Luis Fernando Porras -Meléndez, representative of Social Security.
According to Porras, "the purchase was correct, the product met the safety and protection requirement."
This purchase was made on an emergency basis. However, Social Security does not provide the name of the company that sold the masks.
The people in charge of reviewing the products and managing the purchases are nursing professionals from different medical centers with extensive experience, who carried out the documentary review focused on the quality of the samples, Social Security said.
Specialists verified the international certifications before the purchase. This consisted of testing permeability, functionality, seal and then verify the three layers of filtration.
The material error, which does not change the quality of the product, occurs when inspecting the labeling of the box where it indicated: “no medical.”
In other words, it is presumed that the label for the masks was incorrect or the items are not for use by workers in the medical field.
According to the authorities, the masks were received in the social security warehouses on June 30 and immediately distributed to health workers. Social Security was responding to the need to supply medical centers with this essential equipment.
According to Porras, the administrative steps have already been taken with the supplier company to make that change of masks.
Social Security has purchased and distributed among health workers more than 30 million units of personal protective equipment in the last 6 months as part of the emergency care for covid-19 facing the country, Porras said.
Social Security did not disclose how many masks must be returned to the provider company.
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