A worker sews face masks at SugarHouse Industries Thursday, March 26, 2020, in Midvale, Utah. SugarHouse Industries, a Utah company that usually manufactures boat tops and covers, has reconfigured its operation amid the spread of the coronavirus to produce face shields and masks. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

Researchers at Yale Medicine said Friday they have discovered a way to clean and reuse N95 masks, now in critical supply throughout the country.

The study comes as shortages of the N95 masks, which protect health care workers from the coronavirus, have forced hospitals to improvise, using less-ideal surgical masks.

Some drive-thru testing centers have had to curb their hours because of mask shortages.

Reusing the N95 masks could give health care workers some respite amid the growing demand.

The study found that using aerosolized hydrogen peroxide the agent used to fumigate the hospital rooms of patients with the C. Diff hospital infection was successful in cleaning the masks 100% of the time.

Using this process, researchers say, they were able to reuse the masks up to five times.

Dr. Patrick Kenney, medical director of the corporate supply chain for Yale Medicine and Yale New Haven Health, said prior research found that the N95 mask retained good protection 50 times after the technique was used but that you cannot use them clinically that many times. The wear and tear of the mask would not stand up.

Although Yales research paper has yet to be peer-reviewed, researchers have reproduced the results three times and expect to implement the technique when supply of N95s becomes dangerously low.

Researchers decided to make their findings available to physicians now for the public health benefit.

Already, on Thursday, Duke Health announced it would begin decontaminating and reusing the specialized mask using aerosolized hydrogen peroxide at its three hospitals in Durham and Raleigh. In a statement, Duke Health explained that the technique permeates the masks to kill germs, including viruses, without harming the material.

Kenney said Yale New Haven Hospital has begun to reprocess the N95 masks but is waiting for an independent lab to determine whether the masks are still able to provide necessary filtration.

The N95 masks are one type of personal protective equipment that hospitals are trying desperately to stockpile as the COVID-19 outbreak intensifies. Also known as the N95 respirator, the mask offers more protection than a standard surgical mask. It gets its name because it prevents at least 95% of airborne particles from entering the wearers mouth and nose, if worn properly.

The shortage of N95 masks has left many hospitals scrambling for ways to protect its health workers. The Centers for Disease Control also relaxed its guidelines, allowing health care providers to use less-effective surgical mask.

Although Kenney said many hospitals have the aerosolized hydrogen peroxide equipment, neither Saint Marys, Waterbury or Charlotte Hungerford hospitals responded to inquiries asking whether they did.

Yales Kenney said Yale-New Haven has an adequate supply of N95s but that were quite concerned about availability. He emphasized that this technique is a back up plan to be implemented only if the supply of N95s becomes dangerously low. Its not the only aspect of our emergency plan, he said.

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Yale Medicine researchers discover way to clean, reuse N95 masks - Waterbury Republican American