02/14/2022

Lead With Advocacy:

How the American Mask Manufacturer’s Association broke through

The start of the pandemic brought a sudden need for masks. But confusion among consumers, doctors and government officials has at times blunted the average person’s ability to access high-quality masks such as N95 respirators.

A number of mask manufacturers, many of which were startups, took steps early in the pandemic to solve domestic supply problems but ran into bureaucratic difficulties, consumer confusion and even retailer bans on the sale of masks.

Faced with these challenges, mask makers founded the American Mask Manufacturer’s Association (AMMA) in March 2021. Its early work paid off in a big way when AMMA took a lead role in supporting the Biden administration’s goal of supplying 400 million N95 masks to the public. The group also recently collaborated with Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-Va.) on introducing the Domestic SUPPLY Act, a bill that would require the federal government to use American manufacturers for personal protective equipment (PPE) during national emergencies.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Associations Now.