Strategic Stockpile Of Medical Gear, Equipment Falling Far Short Of Needs, States And Hospitals Say
State and local governments are scrambling to secure medical equipment for the expected surge of patients as well as protective gear for their health workers. But leaders say they're only receiving a fraction of what they've requested from the national stockpile. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning hoarding of scarce medical equipment, and doctors begin to think about rationing care.
The New York Times:
As Federal Government Mobilizes, Local Officials Say Response Remains Too Slow
Federal emergency response teams toured a convention center in New York City on Monday, a sign that a much-needed temporary hospital is on the way. California has received hundreds of thousands of masks for those on the front lines of the outbreak. And President Trump said desperately needed protective equipment was on its way to Washington State. In spots around the nation, the gears of the federal government’s response to the coronavirus outbreak have begun turning. But as the Federal Emergency Management Agency grapples with a crisis whose breadth poses challenges it has never confronted before, state and local leaders lament the time already lost and say the delivery of essential supplies remains far too slow to address their quickly expanding list of needs. (Kanno-Youngs and Lipton, 3/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Strategic Stockpile Of Medical Supplies Is Outmatched By Coronavirus
Hospitals and states overwhelmed by the coronavirus pandemic say the nation’s safety net of medical-equipment supplies, the Strategic National Stockpile, is falling far short of need and are calling for federal officials to invoke national-defense powers to spur more manufacturing. State officials in Washington and Massachusetts say they have received a fraction of what they sought from the national stockpile, an emergency federal reserve of pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and protective gear such as protective masks and gowns. State officials also are calling for a change in the way the stockpile is administered. The stockpile’s formula for doling out supplies is based on population, which is limiting response in areas with escalating cases. (Evans and Siconolfi, 3/23)
Reuters:
U.S. States, Cities Desperate For Coronavirus Help, Military Prepares
Several more U.S. governors on Monday joined the procession of states ordering millions of Americans to stay at home to slow the spread of the coronavirus, while President Trump signaled he’s considering a move in the opposite direction. (Kelly and Chiacu, 3/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus: Newsom Says California Needs 50,000 Hospital Beds
Gov. Gavin Newsom announced new action on Monday to encourage social-distancing measures, including closing parking lots at state parks, and warned that California will need more than twice as many hospital beds for coronavirus patients than previously anticipated. The governor said he was closing parking lots in an effort to prevent people from congregating at California’s outdoor recreational areas and unintentionally spreading the virus. His announcement came four days after he ordered all residents to remain in their homes, making California the first state in the nation to place such restrictions on the movement of its residents. (Luna, 3/23)
The Associated Press:
Doctors Plead For Supplies, While Nations Seek To Slow Virus
Doctors and nurses pleaded for supplies such as masks and ventilators that are critical in their battle to treat a surging number of coronavirus patients, while governments on Tuesday continued to roll out measures that have put more than one-fifth of the world’s population under some form of lockdown. High in the Himalayan mountains, Nepal became the latest country to compel its citizens to stay at home, joining large parts of Europe, Southeast Asia and the entire West Coast of the United States. (Geller and Blake, 3/24)
The New York Times:
The U.S. Needs China’s Masks, As Acrimony Grows
American front-line medical personnel are running desperately short of masks and protective equipment as they battle the coronavirus outbreak. China, already the world’s largest producer of such gear by far, has ramped up factory output and is now signaling that it wants to help. Reaching deals won’t be easy. Increasingly acrimonious relations between Washington and Beijing are complicating efforts to get Chinese-made masks to American clinics and hospitals. A breakdown over the last few days in the global business of moving goods by air around the world will make it costly and difficult as well. (Bradsher and Swanson, 3/23)
The Hill:
Trump Signs Executive Order To Prevent Price Gouging, Hoarding Of Medical Supplies
President Trump signed an executive order Monday aimed at preventing price gouging and hoarding of critical medical supplies amid the coronavirus outbreak. Attorney General William Barr detailed the executive order at a White House briefing Monday evening, saying it would prohibit people from accumulating critical supplies amid the coronavirus outbreak in an effort to profit off of them.Barr said the Department of Justice (DOJ) had seen potential evidence of hoarding and price gouging amid the pandemic. (Chalfant, 3/23)
Modern Healthcare:
Trump Bans Hoarding Of Scarce Medical Equipment And Supplies
Hand sanitizer, face masks and other personal protective equipment, or PPE, are in short supply thanks to a sudden and overwhelming increase in demand throughout the U.S. caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The Trump administration decided to take action following reports that some people have stocked up on critical equipment and supplies, which can exacerbate shortages. "We have started to see some evidence of potential hoarding and price gouging," United States Attorney General Bill Barr said. HHS Secretary Alex Azar can determine what essential equipment and supplies are "scarce" under the order. (Brady, 3/23)
CNN:
3M CEO: Our Medical Masks Should Not Be Showing Up In Stores
Every respirator mask that's available right now should be going to a healthcare worker on the front lines, caring for coronavirus-infected patients. They should not be sold in stores to consumers, said 3M CEO Mike Roman in a CNBC interview Monday. 3M is the largest maker of medical face masks, specifically the N95 respirator mask. (Kavilanz, 3/23)
CIDRAP:
Life, Or Death? Experts Guide Pandemic Medical Equipment Decisions
As healthcare systems all over the world face rationing of medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) amid the COVID-19 pandemic, experts are offering recommendations to enable ethical allocation. In an article today in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM), an international group of experts on medical ethics and health policy give six recommendations to ensure that patients are treated equally and that individual physicians don't have to make the "terrible" decision about which patients receive life-sustaining treatment and which do not. (Van Beusekom, 3/23)
WBUR:
People With Disabilities Say Rationing Care Policies Violate Civil Rights
People with disabilities are asking the federal government to stop what they say are policies by states and hospitals that will ration care — and deny them treatment for the coronavirus. On Monday, several disability groups filed a complaint against the state of Washington, one of the states hardest hit by the pandemic. (Shapiro, 3/23)
Modern Healthcare:
UPMC Defends Decision To Continue With Some Elective Surgeries
UPMC on Monday defended its policy of continuing to perform elective procedures on a case-by-case basis amid the COVID-19 outbreak, even as nearly 300 doctors urged the health system to cancel such procedures across the board. In a letter to UPMC administrators signed by 291 of its resident physicians, fellows and attending physicians, the doctors argued that continuing to perform elective procedures and allow outpatient visits would lead to further spread of the novel coronavirus to healthcare workers and patients alike and would use up crucial supplies at a time of national shortages. (Bannow, 3/23)
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Homemade Face Masks Are Turned Away By Some Hospitals As Volunteers Try To Aid Coronavirus Fight
The coronavirus crisis and its corresponding drain on medical supplies have created an altruistic cottage industry in the Crescent City, as creative citizens turn to their sewing machines to produce homemade surgical masks for hospital workers and others facing the contagion close up.But while the masks are turning up in some area institutions, many are declining the gift. (Maccash, 3/23)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:
Sewing Masks For Hospitals: Wisconsin Make Homemade Supplies To Help
With hospitals across the state overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients, many have been struggling with the same equipment shortages seen all across the country.In Wisconsin, though, some hospitals and care facilities are getting a little help from their friends — from home-based sewers, church groups, a high-tech education lab and a well-known flag factory.On Saturday, the 300-bed Marshfield Clinic in the central part of the state put out a Facebook appeal for volunteers to sew masks. (Noenning and Johnson, 3/23
Cincinnati Enquirer:
COVID-19: 100K Face Masks On Their Way To Local Hospital
The local Chinese chamber of commerce has arranged the delivery of 100,000 N95 face masks to a local hospital to protect doctors, nurses and other health care workers battling the new coronavirus pandemic.A FedEx cargo plane is scheduled to pick up the masks from a manufacturer in China on Tuesday, according to Leo Chan, executive director at the Greater Cincinnati Chinese Chamber of Commerce. The masks should be delivered to the hospital shortly thereafter, according to Chan, who said he could not identify the hospital because of a client confidentiality agreement. (Tucker, 3/23)
