CANON_Grow
Well-Known Member
Using the Defence Production Act could have forced not only the manufacture of masks, but also have the authority to order critical materials and they get priority over any other orders. The hospitals purchase PPE through brokers, not something a regular public citizen has access to (for the most part), and the FBI did step in make sure of that.I got the opposite of the bolded from the excerpt. I admit ignorance regarding the bit before: about how hospitals get their PPE. Can you expand?
One thing I do remember is that one domestic maskmaker asked Washington if they should get on making more masks. However the lead time was four or five months, and Washington placed no order. No order, no committing to making the masks.
"Normally, Baystate Health vetted new suppliers and conducted cost-effectiveness analyses in a process that could take weeks. But now it had to decide within a few hours, lest another hospital or a government agency claim the N95s first."
Inside the Chaotic, Cutthroat Gray Market for N95 Masks (Published 2020)
As the country heads into a dangerous new phase of the pandemic, the government’s management of the P.P.E. crisis has left the private sector still straining to meet anticipated demand.
www.nytimes.com
https://www.latimes.com/politics/story/2020-04-07/hospitals-washington-seize-coronavirus-supplies
There was a shortage of PPE, but it wouldn't have been made worse with the recommendation that everyone wear a mask or face covering as soon as they knew it was helpful to prevent more sickness.