The COVID-19 pandemic has prompted innovation in face masks, including through a US BARDA mask innovation challenge.
According to BARDA's target product profile, the main performance measures for its challenge are:
Thermal Burden & Moisture Retention
Breathability
Leakage Ratio
Filter Efficiency
On June 6, 2022, BARDA announced the 10 finalists of the second phase of its mask innovation challenge. The final phase will result in two top winning designs and two runner-ups. BARDA plans on announcing these in October.
The purpose of this question is to understand whether the winning designs of BARDA's mask innovation challenge will be commercially available and affordable to the general public. This may inform the need for further mask innovation.
Will any of the winners of BARDA's mask innovation challenge be sold on Amazon and cost less than $1 (2021 USD) per unit before 2025?
This question will resolve as Yes if at least one of the four winning mask designs (the top two winners/two runner-ups) is commercially available and costs less than $1 per unit on or before December 31, 2024. If the mask is reusable — for the purposes of this question, meaning it is expected to last for at least 1 month of daily usage — then it can cost up to $25 per unit. All prices in the resolution of this question will be inflation-indexed to 2021 USD. The mask should be available for purchase on Amazon, since it dominates e-commerce.
A sale where the price of the product is temporarily discounted would count for this question if such a sale lasts for at least 6 consecutive months at a price of less than $1 per unit (or $25 per unit for those reusable for at least a month of daily usage). Any possible limits on bulk purchases will not affect resolution of this question.
