Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
States That Aren't Hot Spots Struggle To Get Equipment As Federal Government Directs Supplies To Hardest-Hit Areas
The New York Times: FEMA’s ‘Air Bridge’ To Coronavirus Hot Spots Leaves Other Regions On Their Own
The federal government’s program to expedite the shipping of valuable protective equipment to coronavirus hot spots has left hospitals that are out of the spotlight struggling to secure their own protective gear as they watch the outbreak creep closer. The Trump administration has repeatedly endorsed the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s system of flying masks, respirators, gloves, goggles and surgical gowns from overseas suppliers to the United States. The new “air bridge” is rushing supplies to the most hard-hit areas within days instead of weeks. (Kanno-Youngs, 4/16)
NPR: A 'War' For Medical Supplies: States Say FEMA Wins By Poaching Orders
As the number of coronavirus cases surged in Massachusetts, nurses at a hospital in Milford were desperate. They held up cardboard signs outside the hospital asking for donations of protective gear to wear while treating infected patients. William Touhey Jr. thought he could help. Touhey is the fire chief and emergency management director in this small town outside of Boston. He did some legwork, and placed an order for 30,000 protective gowns from overseas. "We were hearing good things that it was coming," Touhey said. (Rose, 4/15)
Politico: U.S. Races To Stock Up On Dialysis Supplies As Kidney Failure Ravages Virus Patients
Hospitals in New York City are running out of dialysis fluids as thousands of coronavirus patients develop kidney failure, an unexpected development that could presage the next critical supply shortage nationwide. Approximately 20 percent of coronavirus patients in intensive care around the city need the kidney treatment, often for weeks, a development that many providers did not see coming. FEMA held a call Monday with FDA and CMS to discuss the possibility of issuing emergency use authorizations to import more dialysis fluids, according to a document obtained by POLITICO. (Owermohle and Eisenberg, 4/15)
The Washington Post: Coronavirus Scramble For N95 Masks Leads Trump Administration To Pay Premium To Third-Party Vendors
The Trump administration has awarded bulk contracts to third-party vendors in recent weeks in a scramble to obtain N95 respirator masks, and the government has paid the companies more than $5 per unit, nearly eight times what it would have spent in January and February when U.S. intelligence agencies warned of a looming global pandemic, procurement records show. (Stanley-Becker, Butler and Miroff, 4/15)
