SAN ANTONIO – Southwest Research Institute has revealed that 8 of 11 different brands of counterfeit KN95 masks tested by the organization were manufactured in China, according to Dr. Imad Khalek, the program’s senior program manager. Khalek said KN95 is the Chinese version of the American-made N95 masks that are now hard to find. He said 73% of the counterfeit masks failed and were only 63% efficient, instead of 95% or higher that you get with real N95 masks. Soon after the COVID-19 pandemic began, SwRI switched from testing engine emissions to testing emission of particles through masks. “Maybe hundreds of millions of dollars are spent by various healthcare systems in hospitals on counterfeit KN95 masks,” Khalek said.