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N95 masks are still needed as America reopens and Covid-19 cases surge

N95 masks are still needed as America reopens and Covid-19 cases surge

N95 masks are still needed as America reopens and Covid-19 cases surge
Jul 10, 2020 2 mins, 37 secs

These masks, unlike surgical masks or cloth masks, are tight-fitting and filter airborne particles that can carry the virus, making them a key source of protection for health care workers, some of whom have died after being exposed to Covid-19 at their medical facilities.

Now, as the United States continues to reopen and the number cases and hospitalizations surge, that troubling shortage of personal protective equipment — and especially N95 masks — is once again a problem.

At one private clinic in Arizona, medical workers are treating Covid-19 patients without being given any N95 masks, according to the New York Times.

Despite months of shutdown that were meant to reduce pressure on the health care system and give the US more time to prepare, production for personal protective equipment, which includes N95 masks, medical gowns, and medical gloves, never adjusted to meet the massive demand caused by the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the recent surge in Covid-19 cases that has followed reopening is almost certainly leading to a greater need for protective equipment in hospitals, especially in the places currently experiencing massive outbreaks, like Florida and Texas.

Earlier this week, presidential candidate Joe Biden released a supply chain plan for Covid-19 that calls for more broadly invoking the DPA, in part to deal with the ongoing shortage of N95 masks.

But national coordination of a supply chain was never set up to effectively distribute personal protective equipment and other supplies, despite calls for the federal government to step in.

When the pandemic first started, the country’s primary concern was getting protective equipment to hospital health care workers who were treating Covid-19 patients.

Michael Einhorn, the president of the medical supplier Dealmed, said there’s also an understandable incentive for medical facilities to buy more safety stock beyond what they need for present day-to-day operations.

At the end of June, the American Medical Association (AMA) sent a letter to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) emphasizing that doctor’s offices and practices outside of hospital systems were struggling to get access to personal protective equipment.

James Madara, the AMA’s CEO and executive vice president, raised the alarm about “growing concern” from doctors about shortages and said that despite pleas to Congress, “a remedy remains elusive.” In fact, the problem in outpatient medical facilities was bad enough that Madara also sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence, asking the administration to invoke the Defense Production Act.

One major challenge is that many of these medical facilities don’t typically buy in bulk the way large hospital systems do and aren’t used to buying protective equipment for their daily operations.

On its own, the US simply isn’t producing enough N95 masks and other protective equipment to meet demand, despite major producers like 3M and Prestige Ameritech ramping up production.

Leading companies in the medical equipment distribution industry also told members of Congress that between January and March, the administration gave them little effective guidance, and there’s still no national coordination of a supply chain.

Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said that the supply of PPE is “very strong” and encouraged medical workers to re-use products.

Summarized by 365NEWSX ROBOTS

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