ActionPPE is a publication in two wings. The Record documents, from dated archive captures and contemporaneous coverage, how U.S. medical societies and ad-hoc programs got personal protective equipment to independent practices in 2020–21 — including the group-purchasing program that once operated at this address, which ended in 2021. The Reference is the practical PPE reference those practices still need, built on the primary standards: NIOSH approvals under 42 CFR Part 84, OSHA's 29 CFR 1910.134, and FDA device rules.
The Record
What happened, on the record
The 2020–21 mobilization, dated from archive captures.
- March 2020 A county medical society starts a group-buying collective for independent practices.
- Late 2020 Forty-plus societies; a 500,000-unit N95 group buy.
- Mid-2021 Vaccines roll out; the programs wind down.
The Reference
What a practice needs now
Plain, procedural, cited to the governing standards — grouped by task.
- Choose: N95 vs KN95 vs surgical mask
- Verify: Is it really NIOSH-approved?
- Comply: OSHA programs for small practices, fit testing
- Keep: Do N95s expire?, stock planning and burn rate
Recently reviewed
- Where the pandemic PPE purchasing programs went — and how practices source PPE in 2026Reviewed August 2026
- How to verify a respirator is really NIOSH-approved: TC numbers, the CEL, counterfeit red flagsReviewed August 2026
- What was ActionPPE? The 2020–21 group-buying collective, on the recordReviewed August 2026
- Does a five-person dental or medical office need an OSHA respiratory protection program?Reviewed August 2026
- The medical societies that ran PPE programs, 2020–2021: a registryReviewed August 2026
- Do N95s expire? What the date means and what expired stock is still good forReviewed August 2026