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Mass General Lab Steps Up to Produce Needed Hand Sanitizer

In This Article

  • In response to a shortage in hand sanitizer supply, a team of pharmacists and chemists from Massachusetts General Hospital have converted their lab into an ethanol-based hand sanitizer production facility
  • The team consists of 10 people in the lab and has enlisted the help of staff in materials management, nursing and environmental services
  • The group has already delivered 19 bottles and will produce 4,000 bottles in the next two weeks

In response to a shortage in supply, a team of pharmacists and chemists from the Gordon Center for Medical Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital have converted their lab into an ethanol-based hand sanitizer production facility.

Daniel Yokell, PharmD, associate director of Radiopharmacy and Regulatory Affairs in the Gordon Center in the Department of Radiology, stated the idea came to him when he heard about the hand sanitizer shortage and realized the lab had the equipment, people and time to make it.

The team consists of 10 people in the lab and has enlisted the help of staff in materials management, nursing and environmental services. They are following the FDA policy for "Temporary Compounding of Certain Alcohol-Based Hand Sanitizer Products During the Public Health Emergency" to create the sanitizer.

The compound has been cleared by Mass General safety and hospital compliance and bottled into hand pump containers using sterile and safe methods. The group has already delivered 19 bottles to Environmental Services and will produce 4,000 bottles to meet the hospital's demand for the next two weeks.

James Brink, MD, radiologist-in-chief, stated how pleased and proud he is of his radiochemistry team applying their talents to produce a vital product for the hospital's fight against COVID-19.

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