The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard will help the Army manufacture thousands of COVID-19 diagnostic test swabs.
The facility in Kittery, Maine will 3D print up to 10,000 swabs a day using surgical grade resin.
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The long, bristled swabs are inserted into a person’s nose to get a sample that can determine if they have COVID-19. There have been widespread shortages of these swabs during the pandemic.
The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard’s 3D printing unit is also making face shields for COVID-19 response. In the past, the facility has used the printers to make submarine parts.
Officials say Portsmouth was the first facility to be trained by a new Army working group, focused on making COVID-19 supplies for review by the Food and Drug Administration.
With FDA approval, the swabs will be sterilized and deployed in COVID-19 testing kits.
