Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Coalition Of Attorneys General Ask 3M To Help Prevent Price Gouging On Masks
Politico: Becerra, 19 Other AGs Ask 3M To Help Prevent Price Gouging
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and 19 other AGs are asking 3M to help prevent price hikes for respirator masks and other personal protective equipment that governments and health care providers are scrambling to acquire during the coronavirus pandemic. Led by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring, officials from 19 states and the District of Columbia asked 3M CEO Michael Roman today to stop doing business with distributors that violate the company's policies prohibiting price gouging; create a database of 3M's inventory of N95 respirators for governments and health care providers; and disclose more information on how 3M is distributing its inventory and filling orders. (Kahn, 4/21)
ABC News: FEMA's Coronavirus Response By The Numbers: 33M Masks, 56M Respirators, 10,000 Ventilators
Last month as the country struggled to defend itself from the coronavirus, some critics were asking where the Federal Emergency Management Agency was and why is wasn’t working overtime to assist a nation amid the pandemic. But after being brought late into the government's response and as states continue to sound the alarm, the federal agency says it has raced to catch up to the ever-growing demands and has mobilized quickly to get critical equipment to those who need it. (Folmer and Margolin, 4/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Indutex USA Says FEMA Seized N95 Respirators For National Stockpile
As pleas for protective masks continue amid the coronavirus pandemic, a Delaware supplier of medical equipment is disputing the legality of what he said were federal seizures of hundreds of thousands of N95 respirators. George Gianforcaro, owner of the small, Newark, Delaware-based Indutex USA, said the Federal Emergency Management Agency did not pay him when it took possession of two imported shipments of masks bound for customers across the United States. (Baker, 4/21)
The Wall Street Journal: Volunteers In Coronavirus Response Ruffle Some At FEMA
White House senior adviser Jared Kushner in March launched an effort under the government’s emergency powers to enlist private-sector volunteers in the coronavirus pandemic response. As part of the project, eight junior analysts at New York-based Insight Partners, an investment fund, were assigned to work at Federal Emergency Management Agency headquarters to help source protective gear and test kits for medical workers from vendors. (Levy, 4/21)
The Washington Post: Did Trump Ship 17 Tons Of ‘American’ Masks And Medical Supplies To China?
For weeks into the coronavirus crisis, President Trump expressed support for China’s handling of the epidemic that first emerged in the city of Wuhan and the country’s “transparency” on the situation. Now that the death toll in the United States has soared, Trump and his aides have started to blame China, accusing it of not quickly sharing information that might have stemmed the pandemic. (Kessler, 4/22)
Politico: Trump, The ‘King Of Ventilators,’ May Donate Some Machines To African Countries
U.S. officials are drafting a plan to donate ventilators to African countries battling the novel coronavirus, an effort that comes as President Donald Trump boasts of how recently ramped-up production has made him the “king of ventilators. ”The still-preliminary plan, confirmed by two Trump administration officials, could save lives on a continent sorely lacking such machines and enhance America’s standing in the face of Chinese efforts to gain diplomatic dominance across Africa. (Toosi, 4/21)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Mike Pence Touts Production Of Ventilators In Visit To GE Healthcare
Vice President Mike Pence visited a GE Healthcare manufacturing facility in Madison Tuesday to tout the production of ventilators and offer encouragement that the United States is robustly fighting the coronavirus pandemic. "We are one team confronting the coronavirus epidemic, one nation working together," Pence said during a discussion with workers and management. He lauded the partnership between union machinists and GE Healthcare and said they "have saved lives all across America." (Glauber, 4/21)
ABC News: As Doctors See Coronavirus-Kidney Link, Worry Grows Over Dialysis Machines
Jamal Uddin’s coronavirus story began like many others: His health deteriorated, he was hospitalized, he tested positive for COVID-19, and he was treated. And the treatment appeared to be working, he was going to be taken off the ventilator -- until his potassium levels spiked. A sudden increase in potassium levels, a result of kidney damage, can be treated with a dialysis machine. But at the hospital in hard-hit New York City where Uddin was being treated, his family says every dialysis machine was already in use – a sign, experts say, of the growing connection between COVID-19 and kidney problems. (Dastmalchi, Bhatt and Bruggeman, 4/22)
WBUR: States And Hospitals Are Sourcing Their Own PPE From China
States and hospitals aren't just counting on the federal government for personal protective equipment. They're wading into the import business themselves, sourcing their own supplies from China. (Kaste and Ruwitch, 4/21)
Meanwhile, the government has launched a monumental response to the coronavirus and it's still not enough —
Politico: The Government Is All In On Coronavirus: How It’s Still Not Enough
The global coronavirus crisis crashed into the United States in Washington state in January and quickly brought the richest and most powerful nation in the history of the world to its knees. And so far, the federal response has been too small in scope and short on creative solutions to meet the greatest challenge since World War II. The nation needs upward of 30 million tests per week to properly track the virus, health experts say. The country is testing only about 1 million a week now. It could take a public health army of more than 100,000 to track and trace those carrying the virus. There are only a few thousand so far. (White, 4/21)
