U.S. Pandemic Could Severely Strain Face Mask, Other PPE Supply Pipeline

Bowen reports that political inroads are being made. “We’re been very active politically, and support for American-made masks is growing. Recently, U.S. Congressmembers Kay Granger, Joe Barton, and Michael Burgess wrote a letter to Mike Leavitt about American-made masks. We have heard that Pat Leahy of Vermont supports American masks as well. We have very been successful garnering support from many of our Texas state representatives, including Jane Nelson, who chairs Texas’ Senate committee for the Texas Department of Health and Human Services, and Tom Craddick, the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. We will continue our vigorous effort to gain political support for American-made masks. Protecting America is a bi-partisan concern and politicians are listening.”

At press time, many on Capitol Hill are consumed with the presidential election and the state of the economy, and may not have pandemic planning on their minds. Bowen says the feds can’t afford to take another misstep, adding, “The federal government got a black eye over how it handled the Katrina disaster. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 21 was a result. The Feds have identified this problem as a national security threat. Now that the issue has been identified as such, they cannot simply ignore it. I see massive government stockpiling of masks on the horizon, as well as political pressure on the GPOs and healthcare systems to purchase American-made masks in order to rebuild America’s mask manufacturing infrastructure.”

In the worst-case scenario — if the foreign pipeline closes and domestic manufacturers can’t meet quotas, and we can’t stockpile enough disposable face masks — can we reuse RPDs? In the presentation supplied to Prestige Ameritech, the DHHS noted, “There are several RPD options (re-usable devices, etc.) that can be employed to meet the projected needs” and that “All sectors must contribute to efforts to prepare in order to meet the needs for RPD during a pandemic.” While the DHHS presentation did not specify which RPDs can and should be reused, medical face masks and N95 respirators are the most likely items.