The N95 shortage America can’t seem to fix

The big problem with the right, is they have too much faith in the 'free market'. In times of peace and normalcy, the free market does a pretty good job of meeting the needs of the market place.

But in war time, major crises, the right, especially this president, just doesn't understand that the free market isn't as reliable to do the right thing as they and he think it is.

The job of the president, free market or not, is to protect Americans, and that includes protect Americans from pandemic diseases.

America has 4% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's covid cases.
According to data provided by Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, there were 2,910,023 confirmed coronavirus cases in the U.S. out of 11,516,782 confirmed cases around the world
as of July 6.

This OP is but one of the reasons why Trump has failed, utterly, and why a good sizeable portion of the 200,000 people who have died, surely would be still alive, if he were a competent human being, one who had empathy for his fellow man, one who cared for people and not just the stock market, his crowd size, and his hair protecting adequately his bald spot.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2020/local/news/n-95-shortage-covid/

BALTIMORE — The patient exhaled. She lifted her tongue for a thermometer. She raised her finger for a blood sugar test, and that’s when she started coughing. One cough can send 3,000 droplets into the air, one droplet can contain millions of coronavirus particles, and now some of those particles were heading for the face of emergency department nurse Kelly Williams. The nurse inhaled. Strapped over her mouth and nose was an N95 respirator, the disposable filtering mask that has become the world’s most reliable and coveted defense against the virus. N95s were designed to be thrown away after every patient. By this July afternoon, Williams had been wearing the same one for more than two months. To get to her, the N95 had traveled from a British factory to a Baltimore warehouse, in a supply chain as tangled and layered as the web of microscopic fibers inside the mask’s filter.

Through the powers of the Defense Production Act, President Trump ordered General Motors to make ventilators. Other companies followed, many supported by the government, until the terrifying problem of not enough ventilators wasn’t a problem at all. But for N95s and other respirators, Trump has used this authority far less, allowing major manufacturers to scale up as they see fit and potential new manufacturers to go untapped and underfunded. The organizations that represent millions of nurses, doctors, hospitals and clinics are pleading for more federal intervention, while the administration maintains that the government has already done enough and that the PPE industry has stepped up on its own.

 

sounds to me like we test more folks

sounds to me like the cherry picked hospital needs new mgmt as the hospitals around here have more than enough ppe

and by the way, those were private companies which mobilize during time of war and also mobilized to make PPE

in your socialist utopia, where things are nationalized, you're screwed and medical care must be rationed

It might be time to open your eyes to reality

 

What that tells me is he is not interested in prevention which is the MO of the AMA. They don't make money if they don't keep or make people sick. That's why so many medications have a million side effects. OK. Now what?

 

At this point, with the financial power this nation have, N95 masks should be handed out free of charge to anybody who wants them.

Yet another piece of evidence of the absolute lack of leadership by this administration

 

I have medicare and it works beautifully. Republicans are not telling the truth.

Dems want universal health care, and repubs call us 'socialist'.

Then we ;point to countries that have successful universal health care, and then they the tell us " those countries are not socialists".

Make up your ****ing minds.

Yeah "socialist utopia' is dog whistle for 'commie" .

You guys are a trip, well the lies have to stop.

If I believed half of what republicans say about democrats, I would still be a republican.

This former U.S. health insurance exec says he lied to Americans about Canadian health care
https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappen...mericans-about-canadian-health-care-1.5631874
Wendell Potter says the stark differences in how Canada and the U.S. are weathering the COVID-19 pandemic compelled him to speak out once more about the lies he says he peddled to Americans when he worked as a private insurance executive.
Potter used to be the communications vice-president of Cigna, a U.S. insurance company. Now he leads an organization called Medicare for All Now.
Potter wrote on Twitter that Cigna spent "big $$" trying to sell Americans on the "lie" that the Canadian public health-care system is "awful" and the U.S. system is "much better." But the pandemic, he says, proves otherwise. As It Happens has reached out to Cigna for comment.

Canada is not a socialist country
Norway is not socialist
Sweden is not socialist
Denmark is not socialist.

Democrats are not socialist.

Even 'democratic socialists" are not socialist ( not in the classic sense. But repubs will call us 'venezuela' they are prevaricators)

Y'all need to quit prevaricating

 

Who would have ever imagined my desire to pay for my own healthcare would cause such whining and sniveling as we see above?

 

If it is like lysol, the employees are buying it all up before it ever makes it to the shelves.

 

I don't know what the OP is referring too, I can't go anywhere without tripping over a rack of N95 masks all at $1 or less. People walk right past them in favor of red MAGA masks. This country is awash in masks.

 

In Australia you would still have that option. We have a terrific private health system in parallel. It can be a little faster and more comfortable for elective surgery if you've got the cash, but if you don't have cash there's still a humane and extremely effective and professional option.

 

N95 masks? Actual certified N95's?

The ****** REAL thing, not the KN95 ripoffs the My Pillow Man makes?

Bull fracking FECES my man.

If they're as abundant as you say it should be easy for you to point us all to a website that will have a few for the price you specify or even a little more. You'd be doing all your fellows here a real service to cite it, Thanks

 

As far as I know I still have the option here. I’m uninsured and both times my family has consumed healthcare in the last twenty years they’ve accepted my money. Last time was only a couple years ago and I haven’t heard it’s changed since then. What stinks about parallel systems is people like me end up paying for both systems and only use one. The perfect system would allow you to opt out on both ends of the public option. The fact there is such strong opposition to that system gives the game away.

 

They had that in Costa Rica when I lived there. With the option to pay for a private hospital out of pocket, and the healthcare system could take care of the doctor's services and medications. They were nice rooms, and good attention. But, of course, the healthcare system had the latest state-of-the-art equipment. So it would depend on what you wanted to use it for.

 

True, it only works if everyone chips in...

 

Voluntary cost sharing and membership medicine work. There’s no reason for making those who aren’t going to consume the product pay for it.

 

There are cases of them for sale AR our range. $1ea. 3M.
I was in a Walmart and a local large chain food store this morning. Every type of mask one could want.
Your passion for the N95 mistifies me. Sitting here watching Pelosi and Biden and neither are wearing N95 masks. Does that bother you?

 

I can't anti-rationalise that for you, other than to say it's kind of how a society works. We chip in for things that we don't use and others chip in for things that we use.

Ostensibly the wealthier you are the less fair it is.

 

I prefer fair exchange of goods and services.

It is much easier to exculpate the act of property rights violations when the violated entity has assets in excess of your own. But the “fairness” of said property rights violation is equal regardless of the held assets of the violated entity.

 

There's obviously a lot more to this topic

All I can think to say is there's a lot of people on this planet that need to have their share. Anthroponologically speaking the current system is extremely, extremely favourable to the rich.

 

Whose trying to buy N95s, and why? Im seeing more and more loose bandanas as folks become less concerned about Cvirus and more concerned about just being able to go into a store.

 

True. It’s never as simple as advocates for single payer make it out to be.

I’m not sure what their share is.

It’s easier to make more money if you have money. From personal experience I can assert with great confidence our system is also extremely favorable to those who educate themselves, work hard, and refrain from making stupid decisions. It’s a magical combination that can take an individual from poverty to whatever level of income or assets one desires.

 

over the years the free market has changed to just-in-time inventory vs having warehouses full

helps profits, but times like this, it's also a hindrance

 

those are usually not N95 masks

 

You are free to purchase your own health care. Go for it.

 

ARe you sure they are Certified N95s ? or certified KN95s ( from china ) and there are a TON of counterfeits out there, the N95s are the safest, and go for about $5 - $10 each

If they are a buck or less , they are probably counterfeit

 

I do purchase my own healthcare. Always have.

What’s amusing is you are fine with me deciding on whether to buy my personal healthcare or not, but you don’t want me to be free to decide on whether I buy yours or someone else’s healthcare or not. Then, to further supply me with amusement, in other threads you claim to adhere to principles of liberal democracy. What you really want is to wield the power of the majority to get what you want and haven’t earned.