With infections rebounding in many states, the fight to contain the spread of COVID-19 is far from over.

American agricultural utility manufacturing company John Deere recently donated 134,600 face shields to 46 VA centers in 27 states providing additional protection for healthcare providers during the pandemic, according to a VA press release.

“The department recognizes and appreciates when organizations take it upon themselves to help VA and communities, and these face shields are extremely useful,” said VA Secretary Robert Wilkie.

The company used open source designs from the University of Wisconsin-Madison to manufacture the shields.

“Operation: Hero Support far exceeded our hopes and so far, we have provided nearly 135,000 face shields to VA to contribute to helping protect our Veteran heroes,” said Kevin Blount, engineer at John Deere.

Since April, the company has manufactured and distributed over 400,000 face shields to first responders and health care providers in the United States.

Photo by Katie Chen/UW Medicine Newsroom