COVID-19: DIY PPE
We've gotten a lot of interest in COVID-19 PPE projects over the last few weeks. Wherever you are in the world, your local healthcare system is likely running low on, if not completely out of, personal protective equipment. These are things like masks, respirators, safety glasses, face shields, and nitrile gloves. So are the shelves of your local home centers and hardware stores and medical supply companies.
We like to make stuff. That's why we're here. The world has been crowdsourcing ways we can all chip in to help protect ourselves and others. Up until now, /r/DIY has abstained from that, because we don't have the medical knowledge and resources to vet project submissions, or the moderator bandwidth to manage the comment sections on these posts. We do, however, feel strongly that these are important projects, and we want to support those efforts.
Since we can't safely do that here, today we're announcing a partnership with the CoronaVirus Discord. They have a group of verified licensed medical professionals from around the world who have been vetting projects and collecting resources for DIYers. They have offered not only to share those resources with us, but offered a space there for discussing these types of projects, including chatting with licensed medical providers one-on-one about the projects you want to work on. You can identify them by their certifications at the end of their usernames. Check out their #covid-19-diy chat channel for details! We're encouraging everyone who wants to DIY some PPE to head over there!
Some Project Ideas
Here are a few of the links they've encouraged us to share:
Donating PPE
If you have manufactured PPE or self-made PPE, please consider sourcing them out locally. You can call your local public hospitals and ask how you can donate, as many systems have set up drives and drop-off processes to accept donations. Look to your neighbors and friend circles for healthcare workers and at-risk essential workers. Reach out and ask what you can do to help and what resources they need the most.
If your system is in a low-impact area, you can also consider donating to regional or national drives like 100 Million Mask Challenge by the American Hospital Association.
DIY PPE
We've seen how amazingly generous this community can be, and it's blown us away. So many people are producing these things not only for their own families, but to donate to the healthcare workers and others on the front lines. With PPE shortages in the news daily, our donations can have an immediate positive impact on our communities.
and so many others.
Pre-manufactured PPE
Many of us have PPE that we purchased before this crisis began. Maybe you bought a bulk box of dust masks and still have a few left, or have a face shield you bought for using your lathe but don't need right now.
Please consider donating extra pre-manufactured protective equipment to your local healthcare organizations! Hospitals and EMS agencies are at the top of that list. As a healthcare provider myself, I'm seeing first hand just how short we are on these essential items. Every donation will help. Call your local hospitals, talk to that nurse you know, stop by your local fire station (remember social distancing). We need your support!
Vetting Info Sources
There's a lot of information about DIYing these kinds of equipment. Some of it's good, but a lot of it is downright dangerous. Here are some tips for finding the good stuff when doing research on your own:
- Be sure that any recommendations you receive are given by someone who has knowledge to speak on the subject. Has a licensed medical professional seen the design and given input? There are many designs out there that have been been looked at by professionals who have given advice about fine-tuning the designs for more safety. Is this one of those, or is it a new design that might have unsafe consequences that the designer didn't notice?
- Beware fear mongering. Does the resource you're using tend to over-amplify the impact of the virus beyond what is stated by official channels, such as those from your government? Are they suggesting truly unusual ways of protecting yourself?
- How widespread is the specific design? Have major news outlets linked to it and discussed its aspects? What did they say about the merits of this design specifically, versus the many unreliable designs out there?
- Does the design discuss mistakes you could make while constructing it that would cause it to be less safe? All designs can do more harm than good if you don't create them correctly. Does the designer explain improper methods of constructing it to help you avoid those mistakes?
Thank You!
There are over 17 million of us. That is a significant number of makers, DIYers, sewers and 3D printers. Together we have the capacity to have a huge impact on the current crisis, changing the course of history and literally saving lives. At no other time in human history has the capacity to make such a difference been divested in so many people. Every single one of us can make a difference, and I'm so excited to see what you come up with.
I'll see you over at the CoronaVirus Discord!
As always, if you have questions about /r/DIY and its moderation, you can message the moderators. Thanks!
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