3M
–26% since Feb. 19
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals have reported a shortage of a number of personal protective equipment, including 3M’s N95 masks.
3M’s N95 masks provide 95% filtration efficiency against certain non-oil based particles. Healthcare workers use the masks to stay safe while treating people who are infected with the virus. But the Maplewood, Minn–based is still seeing demand exceed supply.
3M (NYSE:MMM) on March 20 said it would increase investments in the U.S. to help boost mask production by 30% over the next year. 3M has so far ramped up its production of the masks to 100 million per month and is estimated to produce 1.1 billion over the next 12 months.
“The pandemic is affecting us all, and we are doing all we can to support public health and especially our first-responders and those impacted by this global health crisis,” CEO Mike Roman said in a news release. “We are mobilizing all available resources and rapidly increasing output of critical supplies healthcare workers in the United States and around the world need to help protect their lives as they treat others.”