The Importance of the Minimum Dosage Necessary for UVC Decontamination of N95 Respirators during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The World Health Organization (WHO) recently released a press report highlighting the severe shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) that is endangering healthcare workers worldwide during the COVID-19 pandemic.(1) To meet this urgent need, healthcare institutions across the world have begun to utilize the germicidal properties of ultraviolet C (UVC) to decontaminate N95 respirators so that they can be reused.(2) It is clearly crucial that the dose of UVC delivered is sufficient to kill any viable SARS-CoV-2, the causative virus of the COVID-19 pandemic, that may be present on the respirators.