“SOMEBODY at CDC should have been looking at the national supply and supply capability [of masks] very early on...”
I don’t know about the CDC, but there were reports of American hospitals sending masks and other supplies to China in February and early March. I guess the thinking was to try to head the virus off over there before it got there.
It’s not the CDC’s job. They are not the Emergency Prep people.
Each hospital should have, in the emergency prep storeroom, 4 weeks of PPE to deal with this type of ongoing mass casualty event. That is a joint commission requirement. Someone should be asking each hospital administrator why they are running out so soon.
The answer? They tapped into them during the “normal” flu season. This makes their supply budget look good through Q2.
No one is talking about that.
In addition, the national stockpile is managed through the emergency Preparedness Office which is under Homeland Security/FEMA.
The CDC is a bunch of scientists. They don’t DO planning or prep activities.
It is important to understand the mechanics of how tis works. The CDC screwed up the testing because they think they are the smartest kids in class. They Did NOT screw up any materials shortages—that’s not their gig.
Yes. I remember those stories. People from all over the world sending their masks to China. How stupid could we be ? And then the China hospitals not having staff available to even open the boxes. They showed them all just piled up in a storage room.