PPE production tracker?

June 2, 2020 10:58 AM

Obviously, one of the major themes of the COVID pandemic has been disruptions in the supply of critical PPE for medical and other first-line workers. It's been a while since I've heard an update about the status of the US PPE infrastructure. Is there a site that tracks production and forecasts when medical (etc) personnel will have access to the right gear?

I saw an article a few weeks ago that 3M was tripling production of N95 masks, but as a layperson, I have no idea what level of production would be is necessary to ensure that all medical personnel have the optimal supply of masks to go through their days (how often would you change masks, anyway? each time you enter/exit a room, or just with each patient, or what?). And, of course, masks are only one part of the PPE needed.

Is there a site somewhere that provides updates on the necessary gear and forecasts when we'd reach adequate supples for each item?

Note, I am NOT looking for updates on items available for sale to the public. Please do not post links for people to buy PPE.

I would just like some visibility into resources that medical personnel require--honestly as some glimmer of good news that things are getting better! Thanks!

posted by Admiral Haddock to Health & Fitness (2 answers total)

As someone who uses ppe, I would find this useful too. As far as I know, supplies are still spotty and unpredictable, although better than before. Supplier websites can no longer be counted on for status information and our purchasing agents just make lots of calls to customer service of all possible suppliers keep us in supplies. we have to be flexible about brands and particular part numbers. Way better state than the recent past but not the old normal.
posted by Tandem Affinity at 2:56 PM on June 2, 2020

Re: need

The Department of Health and Human Services clarified Wednesday that the United States has about 1%, not 10%, of the required respirator masks that would be needed for medical professionals if the COVID-19 outbreak were to erupt into a pandemic here. The agency said its pandemic planning assumptions estimate the U.S. health-care system will need up to 3.5 billion N95 respirator masks over a year. The Strategic National Stockpile, the nation’s emergency stockpile of drugs and medical supplies, currently holds approximately 12 million medical-grade N95 respirator masks and 30 million surgical face masks, according to an HHS spokesperson. (CNBC, March 4, 2020)

Columbia University’s chief surgeon, Dr. Craig Smith, said hospitals in the New York-Presbyterian system are burning through about 40,000 masks a day — about 10 times the normal amount. (US News & World Report, March 22, 2020)

In testimony before a U.S. Senate committee early in March, Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary Robert Kadlec said the country would need 3.5 billion N95 respirator masks for a “severe” pandemic.[...] In 2015, experts at the CDC and related organizations forecast the country could need even more respirator masks. (MRPNews, March 30, 2020)


Potential Demand for Respirators and Surgical Masks During a Hypothetical Influenza Pandemic in the United States (Clinical Infectious Diseases, 2015) (PubMed)

The CDC PPE calculators for the Ebola outbreak; CDC guidance, instructions for PPE use by healthcare workers gives an idea of mask protocol.

Interim Estimate of US PPE Needs for COVID-19 (Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health, Center for Health Security, April 18, 2020)

Personal protective equipment needs in the USA during the COVID-19 pandemic (The Lancet, May 14, 2020) draws from GetUsPPE.org ("Data is critical for informed decision making. The data gathered from Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) requests provides an overview of evolving PPE needs, and offers a snapshot of current demand that helps us get PPE where it is needed most.")
posted by Iris Gambol at 11:54 PM on June 2, 2020