Relief package billions can’t buy hospitals out of shortages
4 years, 9 months ago

Relief package billions can’t buy hospitals out of shortages

Associated Press  

The billions of tax dollars headed for hospitals and states as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus response bill won’t fix the problem facing doctors and nurses: a critical shortage of protective gowns, gloves and masks. “It’s pretty much every state for itself,” said Virginia’s secretary of finance, Aubrey Layne, who is deeply involved with his state’s effort to buy medical supplies. Yadav said that in addition to more supplies, states and hospitals need a better way to allocate medical supplies to the places they’re needed most. Soumi Saha, director of advocacy at Premier, which purchases equipment for roughly 4,000 hospitals, said 56% of hospitals didn’t receive their orders for N95 masks in February. The $100 billion earmarked for hospitals in the stimulus package will help quickly repurpose operating rooms into intensive care units, subsidize hospitals losing revenue due to canceled procedures, and hire additional staff to replace infected workers, said Ashley Thompson, the American Hospital Association’s senior vice president for policy.

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History of this topic

States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire
1 year ago

States are trashing troves of masks and pandemic gear as huge, costly stockpiles linger and expire

Associated Press  

When the coronavirus pandemic took hold in an unprepared U.S., many states like Ohio scrambled for masks and other protective gear. Now, “states, hospitals, manufacturers – everybody in the whole system -- has extra product,” said Linda Rouse O’Neill of the Health Industry Distributors Association. Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan told local lawmakers in May that officials would focus on …

US Surgeon General Donates Covid Supplies Worth Rs 1.4 crore to Hospitals in Karnataka
3 years, 7 months ago

US Surgeon General Donates Covid Supplies Worth Rs 1.4 crore to Hospitals in Karnataka

News 18  

US Surgeon General Vivek Hallegere Murthy and his family have sent medical supplies to hospitals in Karnataka from where his family had once migrated to America. His father, Lakshmi Narasimha Murthy, who belonged to the old Mysure region and had later migrated to the US, has facilitated the donation through their Scope Foundation. “We have received the consignment of oxygen …

FDA: N95 masks, now plentiful, should no longer be reused
3 years, 8 months ago

FDA: N95 masks, now plentiful, should no longer be reused

Associated Press  

The Biden administration has taken the first step toward ending an emergency exception that allowed hospitals to ration and reuse N95 medical masks, the first line of defense between frontline workers and the deadly coronavirus. “The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is recommending health care personnel and facilities transition away from crisis capacity conservation strategies,” said the agency in a …

Coronavirus Updates: In view of COVID-19 case surge, tender to be floated to import 50,000 MT of medical oxygen, says Centre
3 years, 8 months ago

Coronavirus Updates: In view of COVID-19 case surge, tender to be floated to import 50,000 MT of medical oxygen, says Centre

Firstpost  

11:18 PM Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Coronavirus LATEST Updates Centre asks states to ensure availability of essential supplies, stop panic buying by consumers Amid concerns over the availability of essential items in view of rising COVID-19 cases, the Centre on Thursday directed state governments to take steps to stop panic buying by people and ensure there is no hike in prices …

AP: Tight supplies for virus gear cost US states billions
4 years ago

AP: Tight supplies for virus gear cost US states billions

Associated Press  

Ray Bellia had a good business before the coronavirus pandemic. While countless other businesses tanked amid coronavirus shutdowns, Bellia’s store — Body Armor Outlet — rapidly evolved into one of the nation’s 20 largest suppliers of personal protective equipment to states this past spring, according to a nationwide analysis of state purchasing data by The Associated Press. The AP’s data …

Column: Why the U.S. still hasn’t solved its mask and glove shortages
4 years ago

Column: Why the U.S. still hasn’t solved its mask and glove shortages

LA Times  

Frontline medical personnel like these at Loma Linda University Medical Center rely on personal protective equipment while treating COVID-19 patients. In a survey last month, more than half of hospitals’ infection prevention specialists reported that they were wearing their N95 protective masks designed for one-time use five times or more. “The U.S. continues to face shortages of personal protective equipment, …

5 takeaways: AP/FRONTLINE investigate medical supply chains
4 years, 3 months ago

5 takeaways: AP/FRONTLINE investigate medical supply chains

Associated Press  

From the very moment the coronavirus pandemic reached America’s shores, the country was unprepared. Medical supply chains are the fragile lifelines between raw materials and manufacturers overseas, and health care workers on COVID-19 front lines in the U.S. Their catastrophic collapse was one of the country’s most consequential failures to control the virus. ___ EDITOR’S NOTE — This story is …

Medical supply chain shortages led to deadly consequences
4 years, 3 months ago

Medical supply chain shortages led to deadly consequences

Associated Press  

Despite decades of warnings about the fragility of the supply lines that brought protective gear from overseas factories to America’s health care workers, the U.S. was unprepared for the coronavirus pandemic and failed to react quickly. __ EDITOR’S NOTE — This story is part of an ongoing investigation by The Associated Press, the PBS series “FRONTLINE,” and the Global Reporting …

US medical supply chains failed, and COVID deaths followed
4 years, 3 months ago

US medical supply chains failed, and COVID deaths followed

Associated Press  

Nurse Sandra Oldfield’s patient didn’t have the usual symptoms of COVID-19 — yet. Chrissie Juliano, executive director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, a forum of the largest public health departments, said the lack of available information about the actual burden of the virus “set our country’s response back by an order of magnitude we will never know.” Meanwhile, studies …

Scarcity of key material squeezes medical mask manufacturing
4 years, 4 months ago

Scarcity of key material squeezes medical mask manufacturing

Associated Press  

FRESNO, Calif. — Rachel Spray is still grieving the loss of her fellow nurse who died after being exposed to the novel coronavirus at Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center in California. Pressure on the medical supply chain continues today, and in “many ways things have only gotten worse,” the American Medical Association’s president, Dr. Susan Bailey, said in a recent …

Masks, sanitisers out of essentials’ list
4 years, 6 months ago

Masks, sanitisers out of essentials’ list

Hindustan Times  

The Centre has removed masks and sanitisers from the purview of the Essential Commodities Act, citing the absence of reports of shortages of such items from anywhere in the country. The emergence of two- and three-play cloth masks as adequate protection has also played a role in ensuing adequate supply. “There are no adverse reports with respect to price or …

States give few details on billions spent on virus supplies
4 years, 7 months ago

States give few details on billions spent on virus supplies

Associated Press  

— States are spending billions of dollars stocking up on medical supplies such as masks and breathing machines during the coronavirus pandemic. Transparency advocates say they’re troubled by the difficulty in getting details about government spending, especially during a crisis that’s shaken the economy and sickened about 1.6 million in the U.S. “There’s no reason that this information should be …

States renew efforts to manufacture supplies domestically amid concerns of second wave
4 years, 8 months ago

States renew efforts to manufacture supplies domestically amid concerns of second wave

CNN  

CNN — As the US moves to reopen, some states are doubling down on efforts to manufacture supplies domestically, concerned that a possible second wave of the virus could paralyze the supply chain again in the future. “That’s what this has taught us, to be more independent.” Over the course of the coronavirus outbreak, growing demand for limited, but critical, …

US governors aim to boost production of medical supplies
4 years, 8 months ago

US governors aim to boost production of medical supplies

Associated Press  

— Frustrated by scarce supplies and a chaotic marketplace amid the coronavirus outbreak, some U.S. governors are seeking to bolster their home-state production of vital medical and protective equipment to ensure a reliable long-term source for state stockpiles. If we can do it here in Missouri, I think it would be well-worth the extra money.” Governors in Florida, Indiana and …

Supply shortages remain a top concern as states move toward reopening
4 years, 8 months ago

Supply shortages remain a top concern as states move toward reopening

CNN  

CNN — Since mid-March, Washington state, one of the first hit by the coronavirus outbreak, has ordered more than 300 million items of personal protective equipment from the private market, desperate to shore up enough supplies to meet demand. “That poses real challenges in our ability to meet the needs of providers and emergency management and first responders in our …

US doctor: I shouldn’t have to buy masks and gloves on the black market (opinion)
4 years, 8 months ago

US doctor: I shouldn’t have to buy masks and gloves on the black market (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Alexander Salerno is a primary care physician at Salerno Medical Associates, a family practice in New Jersey dedicated to population health, chronic disease management and community health. Because the United States outsources the production of medical supplies and test components to other countries, and those countries have been under lockdown due to the pandemic, we are in the …

AP review: State supply stocks sparse and dated before virus
4 years, 8 months ago

AP review: State supply stocks sparse and dated before virus

Associated Press  

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo — Last autumn, when schools were in session, sports stadiums full and no one had even heard of the COVID-19 disease, the Missouri health department made an eerily foreshadowing request. “You could see it in almost every state, in every locality, and the federal government level: depleting the resources, depleting the inventory, and hoping when you need …

Coronavirus Outbreak: IMF calls on all countries to refrain from putting restrictions on exporting medical supplies
4 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus Outbreak: IMF calls on all countries to refrain from putting restrictions on exporting medical supplies

Firstpost  

The IMF has called on all countries to refrain from putting restrictions on exporting medical supplies in view of their massive requirement across the globe to combat the coronavirus pandemic that has killed at least 119,000 people and infected nearly two million Washington: The IMF has called on all countries to refrain from putting restrictions on exporting medical supplies in …

U.S. states share, get creative in hunt for medical supplies
4 years, 9 months ago

U.S. states share, get creative in hunt for medical supplies

Associated Press  

With the federal stockpile drained of protective gear, states are turning to each other, private industries and anyone who can donate in a desperate bid to get respirators, gloves and other supplies to doctors, nurses and other front-line workers. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services confirmed Wednesday that the federal cupboard is officially bare at least through this …

Coronavirus testing for healthcare workers to grow, 11 million masks to be sent to healthcare workers
4 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus testing for healthcare workers to grow, 11 million masks to be sent to healthcare workers

ABC  

Tens of millions of medical masks have entered Australia in recent days, coronavirus testing for healthcare workers will be expanded, and Australians are being reminded not to neglect their health amid the crisis. Health Minister Greg Hunt, Deputy Chief Health Officer Michael Kidd, and Australian Medical Association president Tony Bartone addressed the media in Canberra on Wednesday to announce 11 …

Coronavirus: Washington hospitals 'dangerously low' on protective equipment as they enter crucial two weeks
4 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus: Washington hospitals 'dangerously low' on protective equipment as they enter crucial two weeks

The Independent  

The latest headlines from our reporters across the US sent straight to your inbox each weekday Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US Your briefing on the latest headlines from across the US SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy Hospitals in Washington state …

Hospitals say feds are seizing masks and other coronavirus supplies without a word
4 years, 9 months ago

Hospitals say feds are seizing masks and other coronavirus supplies without a word

LA Times  

Although President Trump has directed states and hospitals to secure what supplies they can, the federal government is quietly seizing orders, leaving medical providers across the country in the dark about where the material is going and how they can get what they need to deal with the coronavirus pandemic. “When testing went off the table, we had to come …

States desperate for medical supplies turn to each other for help
4 years, 9 months ago

States desperate for medical supplies turn to each other for help

CNN  

CNN — As some parts of the country get closer to reaching the peak of coronavirus cases in the weeks ahead and in the midst of widespread complaints of the federal government’s response, governors are stepping in to loan resources and move critical supplies directly to the hot spots. “There’s not enough in the federal stockpile to take care of …

US urges masks as dramatic steps to combat virus roll out
4 years, 9 months ago

US urges masks as dramatic steps to combat virus roll out

Associated Press  

NEW YORK — The Trump administration urged Americans to cover their faces in public and limited exports of medical supplies Friday as New York’s governor took his own dramatic step to fight the coronavirus — vowing to seize unused ventilators from private hospitals and companies. President Donald Trump announced new guidelines that call for everyone to wear makeshift face coverings …

‘War for masks’ breaks out in Europe, US as coronavirus pandemic spreads
4 years, 9 months ago

‘War for masks’ breaks out in Europe, US as coronavirus pandemic spreads

CNN  

CNN — As the coronavirus pandemic spreads across Europe and the United States, a global scramble for medical equipment such as respirator masks and gloves is underway. In France they are calling it the “guerre des masques” – the war of the masks, and on Friday German officials also made allegations against the United States. “It’s true,” he claimed, “that …

China stockpiled more than 2 billion face masks & other items in February
4 years, 9 months ago

China stockpiled more than 2 billion face masks & other items in February

Op India  

While the world is in a dire need of face masks and other medical equipment because of the Wuhan Coronavirus pandemic which is spreading rapidly across the boundaries, China has stockpiled more than 2 billion surgical masks and essential medical equipment that can meet the shortage of worldwide personal protective equipment. As per reports, two billion masks and 25 million …

Protective equipment companies under fire for '1,000% price increase'
4 years, 9 months ago

Protective equipment companies under fire for '1,000% price increase'

The Telegraph  

Companies have been accused of “daylight robbery” for hiking the price of crucial protective supplies such as face masks and sanitiser gels as high as 1,000%. Leading figures in the care sector have warned they faced ruin due to the spiralling cost of the pandemic, with providers hit by shortages of personal protective equipment. One of the country’s leading social …

Illinois becoming desperate for federal government to send medical supplies to fight coronavirus
4 years, 9 months ago

Illinois becoming desperate for federal government to send medical supplies to fight coronavirus

CNN  

CNN — The state of Illinois is desperate to receive medical supplies to fight the coronavirus outbreak but the Trump administration is barely providing the state with anything, a senior state official told CNN on Wednesday. Referring to “Project Airbridge” – an airlift of supplies provided by the federal government and private health care distributors and helmed by White House …

Coronavirus: Retailer Nordstrom sewing more than 100,000 masks for healthcare workers
4 years, 9 months ago

Coronavirus: Retailer Nordstrom sewing more than 100,000 masks for healthcare workers

The Independent  

Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about …

How Decades of Offshoring Led to a Mask Shortage in a Pandemic
4 years, 9 months ago

How Decades of Offshoring Led to a Mask Shortage in a Pandemic

Wired  

If you can reach him, Gus Nasrallah, president and CEO of manufacturing equipment supplier Sharpertek in Pontiac, Michigan, can sell you a machine that cranks out the N95 face masks desperately needed by health workers treating Covid-19 patients. The crisis has exposed the fragility created by decades of companies shrinking production on US soil and growing complex overseas supply chains, …

Why even federal agencies are still scrambling for medical supplies
4 years, 9 months ago

Why even federal agencies are still scrambling for medical supplies

CNN  

CNN — Even before the coronavirus became a pandemic that shut down the world, the federal government was sweeping up supplies that could help health care workers and its own employees protect themselves and help the sick. “The federal government says, ‘States, you need to go find your supply chain’ and then the federal government ends up buying from that …

Doctors fighting coronavirus want governments to reveal how low mask and gown supplies are
4 years, 9 months ago

Doctors fighting coronavirus want governments to reveal how low mask and gown supplies are

ABC  

Australia's top doctors have called on the federal and state governments to be transparent about how low the supplies of personal protective equipment — such as masks, gowns and gloves — actually are. Key points: Paul Torzillo, executive clinical director at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, wants authorities to be upfront about PPE stock levels Melbourne GP Mukesh Haikerwal says …

The US is asking other countries for everything from hand sanitizer to ventilators to help fight the coronavirus
4 years, 9 months ago

The US is asking other countries for everything from hand sanitizer to ventilators to help fight the coronavirus

CNN  

Washington CNN — The Trump administration is appealing to countries around the world to give or sell the US items as basic as hand sanitizer and as complex as respirators to combat the surging coronavirus pandemic. “My job at the White House right now is to help find whatever the American people need and buy it from wherever we can, …

New York’s ordeal could be America’s future (opinion)
4 years, 9 months ago

New York’s ordeal could be America’s future (opinion)

CNN  

Editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show” and a columnist for The Daily Beast. An impassioned Cuomo, who has become “America’s Governor” much the way Rudy Giuliani became “America’s Mayor” after 9/11, laid out bluntly, “Where we are today, you will be in three weeks or four weeks …

Health Care Workers Struggle With Shortage Of Protective Gear
4 years, 9 months ago

Health Care Workers Struggle With Shortage Of Protective Gear

Huff Post  

LOADING ERROR LOADING Health care workers are making adjustments to conserve a limited supply of protective gear as they treat a growing number of COVID-19 patients. “So why are we allowing this for our front-line pandemic providers?” N95 respirators and other important personal protective equipment known as PPE are crucial to helping health care workers protect against spreading infection and …

Illinois governor says ‘it’s a wild west’ for medical supplies because of Trump’s response to states’ requests
4 years, 9 months ago

Illinois governor says ‘it’s a wild west’ for medical supplies because of Trump’s response to states’ requests

CNN  

Washington CNN — Illinois Gov. J.B Pritzker said Sunday that states have resorted to competing against one another for desperately needed medical supplies that are dwindling as hospitals work to treat coronavirus patients. And indeed, we’re overpaying, I would say, for, because of that competition,” Pritzker, a Democrat, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.” “This should have …

FEMA administrator can’t give even rough number of masks going to hospitals as doctors say they don’t have enough supplies
4 years, 9 months ago

FEMA administrator can’t give even rough number of masks going to hospitals as doctors say they don’t have enough supplies

CNN  

Washington CNN — The head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency could not say in an interview Sunday how many medical masks the federal government has acquired to send to hospitals in dire need of them as supplies dwindle amid the coronavirus pandemic. “How many masks does federal government have right now and when can they get to local hospitals?” …

Imports of medical supplies plummet as demand in US soars
4 years, 9 months ago

Imports of medical supplies plummet as demand in US soars

Associated Press  

The critical shortage of medical supplies across the U.S., including testing swabs, protective masks, surgical gowns and hand sanitizer, can be tied to a sudden drop in imports, mostly from China, The Associated Press has found. Some emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics in the U.S. have now run out of key medical supplies, while others are rationing personal protective equipment …

How supply chain issues are impacting the coronavirus pandemic
4 years, 9 months ago

How supply chain issues are impacting the coronavirus pandemic

CNN  

CNN — The cries from health care employees forced to work without personal protective equipment like gowns, masks and gloves during a pandemic is growing louder as the number of coronavirus cases increase in the US. Hours later, the President appeared to walk back his earlier declaration, tweeting that he “only signed the Defense Production Act to combat the Chinese …

COVID-19 doctors running out of masks? Try a bandanna, the CDC says
4 years, 9 months ago

COVID-19 doctors running out of masks? Try a bandanna, the CDC says

LA Times  

A doctor wears a face mask as a precautionary measure against the spread of the new coronavirus as she waits for patients. “Their capability to protect is unknown.” It’s the latest tip from an increasingly beleaguered agency that continues to loosen safety guidelines, even as coronavirus infections rise. I’ve just been shocked at the CDC’s fall-down,” said Beth Hasenauer, a …

Imports of medical supplies plummet as demand in US soars
4 years, 9 months ago

Imports of medical supplies plummet as demand in US soars

Associated Press  

The critical shortage of medical supplies across the U.S., including testing swabs, protective masks, surgical gowns and hand sanitizer, can be tied to a sudden drop in imports, mostly from China, The Associated Press has found. Some emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics in the U.S. have now run out of key medical supplies, while others are rationing personal protective equipment …

Mask Shortage Straps Pharmacists Who Need Them To Keep Medicines Pure
4 years, 9 months ago

Mask Shortage Straps Pharmacists Who Need Them To Keep Medicines Pure

NPR  

Mask Shortage Straps Pharmacists Who Need Them To Keep Medicines Pure Enlarge this image toggle caption Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images Aleksandr Zubkov/Getty Images Pharmacy staff who prepare IV drugs inside hospitals are the latest health care workers decrying a shortage of masks as they scramble to prepare medicines for patients with diagnoses ranging from cancer to COVID-19. But pharmacists are reusing …

A disaster foretold: Shortages of ventilators and other medical supplies have long been warned about
4 years, 9 months ago

A disaster foretold: Shortages of ventilators and other medical supplies have long been warned about

LA Times  

A doctor in Israel checks a medical ventilator control panel while wearing protective clothing. From Galveston, Texas, where a hospital ran out of test kits, to Loma Linda University Medical Center in San Bernardino, which had to set up tents to handle a crush of patients, to New York, where hospitals scrambled to bring on extra emergency staff, it appeared …

Trump shrugs off responsibility for any hospital equipment shortages by saying it’s up to states
4 years, 9 months ago

Trump shrugs off responsibility for any hospital equipment shortages by saying it’s up to states

CNN  

CNN — President Donald Trump shrugged off responsibility for providing more medical equipment and gear to strapped hospitals combating coronavirus, saying Thursday there are “millions” of masks available to workers but that it was up to individual states to ensure they are well stocked amid the pandemic. You don’t know what’s been ordered, what’s not been ordered,” he said, even …

Used facemasks and bandanas: How the CDC is warning hospitals to prepare for coronavirus shortages
4 years, 9 months ago

Used facemasks and bandanas: How the CDC is warning hospitals to prepare for coronavirus shortages

CNN  

CNN — Doctors reusing masks between patients. “I mean, in a way we already don’t.” Reduce, reuse Health care facilities facing a “crisis” may need to consider steps to ration face masks during the pandemic, even if those strategies “are not commensurate with U.S. standards of care,” according to the CDC. With only a few days of supplies on hand, …

US struggles to fill requests for protective gear
4 years, 9 months ago

US struggles to fill requests for protective gear

Associated Press  

SALEM, Ore. — The U.S. government is rushing protective equipment to states, packing dozens of flights and hundreds of trucks with supplies for medical workers who will be on the front lines of the coronavirus fight. I am out of patience at this point.” The state requested hundreds of thousands of respirators, surgical masks, gloves and other protective equipment from …

Health officials warn US government does not have enough stockpiled medical equipment to deal with coronavirus
4 years, 9 months ago

Health officials warn US government does not have enough stockpiled medical equipment to deal with coronavirus

CNN  

CNN — Top health care officials said Monday that there is not enough stockpiled medical equipment like masks, gowns and gloves to fulfill the anticipated need of nation’s health care system as it deals with the coronavirus. Officials from the Department of Health and Human Services told medical professionals on a conference call Monday that there was not enough personal …

WHO racing to send supplies to countries as new virus surges
4 years, 10 months ago

WHO racing to send supplies to countries as new virus surges

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — In an open expanse of desert in Dubai, seven World Health Organization workers are racing to sort, package and send out hundreds of shipments of medical supplies to countries around the world battling a new virus that has spread fast, disrupting life for millions of people. Demand for protective medical supplies like masks, gloves and …

Not Enough Face Masks Are Made In America To Deal With Coronavirus
4 years, 10 months ago

Not Enough Face Masks Are Made In America To Deal With Coronavirus

NPR  

Not Enough Face Masks Are Made In America To Deal With Coronavirus Enlarge this image toggle caption Tom Pennington/Getty Images Tom Pennington/Getty Images Mike Bowen's been a very busy man. Sponsor Message Bowen is at the center of a major problem that the coronavirus has made crystal clear: There aren't enough domestic manufacturers for critical medical supplies such as face …

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