Posted on 03/21/2020 3:38:01 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
The critical shortage of medical supplies across the U.S., including testing swabs, protective masks, surgical gowns and hand sanitizer, can be tied to a sudden drop in imports, mostly from China, The AP has found.
Trade data shows the decline in shipments started in mid-February after the spiraling coronavirus outbreak in China led the country to shutter factories and disrupted ports. Some emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics have now run out of key medical supplies, while others are rationing personal protective equipment like gloves and masks.
The United States counts on receiving the vast majority of its medical supplies from China, where the coronavirus has infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 3,200. When Chinese medical supply factories began coming back on line last month, their first priority was their own hospitals.
The government required makers of N95 masks to sell all or part of their production internally instead of shipping masks to the U.S.
The most recent delivery of medical-grade N95 masks arrived from China about a month ago, on Feb. 19. And as few as 13 shipments of non-medical N95 masks have arrived in the past month — half as many as arrived the same month last year. N95 masks are used in industrial settings, as well as hospitals, and filter out 95% of all airborne particles, including ones too tiny to be blocked by regular masks.
Governors across the country are becoming panicked as states run out of equipment. President Donald Trump has urged them to buy masks on the open market, but few if any are available.
“Without adequate protection, more of our hospital staff could become ill, which would mean there wouldn’t be people to care for patients,” said Nancy Foster, the American Hospital Association’s vice president of quality and patient safety policy.
(Excerpt) Read more at apnews.com ...
“Could these 95-rated masks, etc be dry cleaned. Who knows.
According to the WHO viruses are killed off at 140-150F. Clothes dryers with a sanitize setting get that hot. That might be enough without any further treatment.
The debt has to be cancelled - all of it.
Jubilee year. Start over.
And, that has the happy consequence of being the worst punishment you could deal out to the usurers - for them, worse than death.
You probably already saw it, but I covered that in my correction/addendum in #6.
With an existing building / infrastructure and Trump cutting the nuts off any bureaucrat's creating red tape it could be done in a couple months maybe less. Maybe only Chucky Schumer would be dumb enough to try and say no we must follow the normal process.
I just dredged mine out of my climate controlled basement. Been there since 2006. 60X N95, another 60X dust masks, and 20X surgical masks.
They look fine.
With sufficient material supplies, any company that makes masks should be able to gear up fast...dust/painting masks aren’t much different - volume may require more equipment but it seems p[roper filtering materials would be the biggest snag....I have no idea of the logistics of acquiring those materials.
Oddly enough, we concur.
The biblical year of Jubilee and the prohibition of usury, would prevent all KINDS of financial problems; albeit at the cost of somewhat slower growth.
Good!
You're saying the US consumer in general has been willing to pay more for Made in the USA?
You really think most people would buy a US-made Zenith TV if it cost 15% more than a Samsung?
It's easy to blame CEOs and CFOs but the ones that didn't respond to the consumers' preferences are out of jobs.
Um, no electrostatic charge.
You should tell the CDC:
https://blogs.cdc.gov/niosh-science-blog/2009/10/14/n95/
Then tell 3M:
3M™ Particulate Respirator 8211, N95 is a disposable particulate respirator that is designed to help provide reliable respiratory protection of at least 95 percent filtration efficiency against certain non oil based particles. The respirator is designed for use for particles such as those from grinding, sanding, sweeping, sawing, bagging, or other dusty operations. A foam faceseal and soft inner material provide added comfort while the cup shape design makes the respirator spacious and durable. Braided headbands and an adjustable M Noseclip adjusts easily for fewer pressure points and greater comfort. The respirator incorporates 3M’s proprietary technology with advanced electrostatically charged microfiber filter media designed for ease of breathing. This respirator is compatible with a variety of protective eyewear and hearing protection.
To be an optimist, when this is all done and we start to rebuild, we will have a lot of industries coming back to the states.
Well, color me wrong. 3M does it and makes a big deal about it. I do not know if others do. Everything I know from experience with these materials in Chem Bio defense is that the electrostatic binding of particles is weak and minimal compared to other factors.
PLUS, it would kill bed bugs!
Kick out the mice, and shake out the nest material, and you’ll be good to go! ;-)
That right! They cost too much already!
No problem. I learn something new on FR every day(well it often seems new).
It looks like that is starting to apply to supplements as well. I use Spring Valley garlic pills (made in China) and find that all the local/online stores stores are “back ordered”.
Available on eBay at twice the price though. Some, made in the U.S “with select ingredients from around the world” (Sundown), are still available on Amazon.
I imagine similar shortages/price markups on whatever you take.
Bump
People are already doing it, and have been for a while.
I had some N95s I bought 14 years ago from those guys in the prepper closet. Box said made in USA, had that URL. Still around, still made in USA.
The real question is why have we outsourced so much manufacturing to China? We have sold out Main Street at the behest of Wall Street and Washington in order to save a nickel and enrich the latter two. Hopefully this event wakes the country up to that.
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