In a truly heart wrenching story, the Washington Post details the day-to-day struggles of a front line nurse treating COVID patients and the continuing problems with the American supply chain to fulfill the ongoing need for N95 masks.

While the Trump Administration has claimed that it has addressed the ongoing shortage of N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment, 68% of nurses in a recent survey stated that they are required to reuse masks, which are meant to be used only once.

This contradicts the statements of the Trump Administration, which stated it had the supply chain problems solved through companies like MyPillow vowing to manufacture tens of thousands of masks, or through President Trump’s use of the Defense Production Act to force companies to make necessary products.

“I’ve got production up to what we think is the limits of what we need,” Rear Adm. John Polowczyk said in an interview with the Post. “I believe now that hospital systems are making management decisions that might lead to an appearance that we still don’t have masks, which is the farthest from the truth.”

Polowczyk claimed that the US will be producing 160 million masks per month domestically by December.  Currently, that goal seems like a pipe dream.

The Administration has ordered 3M to import more than 160 million masks from China, using the DPA, but medical facilities found these masks to be faulty:  they did not fit to the face and left gaps where particulates can enter the mouth and nose.

And while the Administration has set aside more than $290 million for procuring masks, this is neither a long-term solution nor a sufficient number.  As the Post points out, “The Department of Defense, which oversees that funding, spends more per year on instruments, uniforms and travel for military bands.”

One major hurdle comes from ensuring ongoing need for the respirators and PPE.  Because the materials used to make N95 masks are very specialized, equipment needs to be purchased.  Supplied need to ensure that the investment in the equipment will not be wasted when the order is fulfilled.

Manufacturers require a long-term commitment from the government and other entities to buy the PPE if and when the current coronavirus pandemic ebbs in order to justify investing in the equipment.  As of yet, that long-term plan has not emerged from the Trump administration, who continue to push off purchasing decisions to the states.