Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Demand Sends Costs Of Protective Gear Skyrocketing: 'There's No End In Sight'
CNN: Cost Of Protective Equipment Rises Amid Competition And Surge In Demand
The cost of personal protective equipment is skyrocketing -- more than 1,000% in some cases -- as the coronavirus pandemic continues. The federal government's Strategic National Stockpile has nearly emptied and states have been left to find PPE supplies on their own. The surge in demand has left importers, suppliers and purchasers scrambling. And price gouging has exacerbated the problem. (Diaz, Sands and Alesci, 4/16)
Boston Globe: ‘It’s The Wild, Wild, Wild West’ — Rhode Island Health Care Agencies In Fight For COVID-19 Gear
Desperate owners of nursing homes are maxing out their credit cards to buy supplies, but they find promises of delivery aren’t always kept, and prices for suppliers are much higher than normal. Surgical masks that normally cost 18 cents are now over a buck, and N95 masks that used to sell for 85 cents "are quoted up to 7 dollars,” Fraser said. (Milkovits, 4/17)
CNN: FEMA Union Urges Trump To Use Wartime-Era Law For More Protective Equipment
The union representing Federal Emergency Management Agency employees is joining growing calls for the Trump administration to utilize the full authorities provided by the Defense Production Act to shore up more protective equipment to fight Covid-19, according to a letter obtained by CNN. The wartime-era law, which gives the government more control during emergencies to direct industrial production, has been a point of contention between states and the Trump administration. While President Donald Trump has invoked the law in some instances during the coronavirus pandemic, the shortage of critically needed supplies has fueled calls to use the law in its full capacity. (Alvarez, 4/16)
The New York Times: Disposable N95 Masks Can Be Decontaminated, Researchers Confirm
Researchers have confirmed that there are several effective methods for decontaminating the N95 masks worn by health professionals so that they can be used more than once, the National Institutes of Health announced Wednesday. A substantial body of research already showed that the masks, designed for one-time use, can be reused in a crisis. And the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in March authorized reuse because of shortages driven by the Covid-19 pandemic. (Gorman, 4/16)
WBUR: NIH Scientists Say N95 Masks Can Be Cleaned At Least 3 Times — But The FDA Is Allowing Up To 20
Scientists from the National Institutes of Health who started investigating the coronavirus back in January have weighed in on the safety of cleaning and reusing the coveted N95 medical masks. In a study released this week, researchers found that it’s safe to clean and reuse the highly sought-after N95 respirator masks at least three times. But that raises questions about whether a new plan to decontaminate masks as many as 20 times at Boston hospitals is safe for medical workers depending on them amid the coronavirus equipment shortage. (Healy, 4/16)
The Wall Street Journal: House Democrats Call For Answers On VA’s Mask Supplies
A group of House Democrats sent the White House a letter Thursday calling for greater transparency from the Department of Veterans Affairs regarding supplies of protective equipment at VA facilities during the coronavirus pandemic, according to the letter, which was made public. Rep. Mark Takano (D., Calif.), the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, wrote to Vice President Mike Pence and the head of the Office of Management and Budget requesting the timely release of information about how the VA is managing its supplies of things like N95 masks, alleging that the White House is holding up release of the data, according to the letter. (Kesling, 4/16)
ABC News: Federal Investigation Launched As Veterans Affairs Lifts Restrictions On Masks For Health Workers
Federal officials have launched an investigation into allegations that the Department of Veterans Affairs is putting its health care workers in danger as they continue to work on the front lines fighting the novel coronavirus, according to a Department of Labor letter obtained by ABC News. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) investigation comes in response to a VA union complaint last week that medical workers who were exposed to infected patients did not receive coronavirus testing and lacked sufficient protective equipment, including N95 respirators, eye protection, face masks and gowns. (Owen, 4/17)
The Washington Post: Inova Bans Workers Treating Covid-19 Patients From Wearing Their Own PPE
Inova, which operates Northern Virginia’s largest hospital, has prohibited employees treating covid-19 patients from wearing N95 respirator masks that they bring from home, despite national shortages of the protective equipment and workers’ concerns about contracting the virus. In a statement, an Inova spokeswoman said the health-care system’s procedures ensure only “hospital-grade, quality-assured products” are available to workers and that it cannot guarantee that personal protection equipment obtained elsewhere will prevent exposure. (Portnoy, 4/16)
The Wall Street Journal: Shoes To Masks: Corporate Innovation Flourishes In Coronavirus Fight
True Value Co. heard from its more than 4,500 affiliated hardware stores last month that hand sanitizer was flying off the shelves, leaving store staff with none for themselves. At the company’s factory in Cary, Ill., which makes cleaning products and paint, John Vanderpool, the company’s divisional vice president of paint, recalled asking, “What can we do to help here?” After a tip from his wife, a pharmacist, he consulted with the Food and Drug Administration, then huddled with his maintenance team and engineers over two weekends to retool two paint-filling lines to produce jugs of FDA-approved hand sanitizer. (Ip, 4/16)
Boston Globe: Schools And Colleges Offer Protective Equipment To Health Providers
At a time of urgent need for equipment to protect health care workers and first responders from COVID-19, area schools and colleges are stepping up to offer their help. Framingham State University donated more than $8,000 worth of medical gloves, masks, alcohol swabs, disinfectant wipes, hand sanitizer, isolation gowns, and other supplies to the MetroWest Medical Center. (Laidler, 4/16)
