Amid a novel coronavirus outbreak where doctors and hospitals are finding themselves strapped for supplies—like face masks and other personal protective equipment—one famous Alabama YouTuber has an idea: print more.
Destin Sandlin, the man behind the Smarter Every Day YouTube channel, posted a video to his more than 7 million subscribers last week showing how people with 3D printers can make face shields for doctors and nurses coping with patients with COVID-19, the virus caused by the new coronavirus.
“It’s time for the nerd and engineering community to step up and help the medical community,” Sandlin says. “This is something we can do, and something we can do fast.”
Since posting the video, Sandlin has partnered with a non-profit who just purchased regular face masks.
According to local media, his video also encouraged everyone from businesses, to the Cook Museum of Natural Science, to people at home with 3D printers to start printing face shields.
“We have the tools, we have the ideas, we have the things needed. Now we can do it and help the people most in need,” Kirk Salmond of the Cook Museum of Natural Sciences told WHNT 19.
Organizers made a drop-off site where they collected thousands of shields to be distributed to doctors and nurses across the Tennessee Valley, WAFF 48 reports.
And for people without 3D printers? Sandlin told WAFF 48 that everyone else can donate elastic bands for the masks. “We also need people that are really good at logistics and coordinating,” he said. “We even need drivers to take the equipment to the hospitals.”
To donate to the cause or help with production, find out more here.
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H/T WAFF 48