Shortage of critical PPE supplies persists

Nine months into the pandemic health care workers still find themselves scrambling for PPE, personal protective equipment. The shortages are more and more acute, as cases keep rising in practically every state, as the U.S. gears up to launch a nationwide program of vaccinations, according to a CBS “60 Minutes” report.

With no effective federal coordination early on, desperate governors, mayors, doctors and sheriffs are left fending for themselves and bidding against each other for supplies like masks and gloves. The global hunt for inventory has created a free-for-all market that’s attracted speculators, self-starters, and outright scammers, leading to congressional and criminal investigations.

The PPE market operates with few rules, and is rife with chaos and broken promises. There are videos circulating online warning of boxes arriving with bags of sand instead of product. Other photos show imported gloves arriving damaged. A charity that ordered masks got instead tissue-thin counterfeits they called a doll’s bloomers.

Masks and gloves are hawked in chat groups on texting apps. Fraud is so rampant that buyers have demanded sellers provide a proof of life video, where the goods are shown with the buyer’s name and current date, like in hostage negotiations.

The most dire shortage right now is in gloves, which with the pandemic are worn in restaurants and factories, as well as hospitals. The need is expected to explode once a national vaccination program starts.

Share on Socials!

Related Articles

Related Articles

US Department of Labor announces national emphasis program to reduce, prevent workplace falls, leading cause of workplace fatalities

OSHA initiative aligns enforcement, outreach efforts to protect workers The U.S. Department of Labor today announced that its Occupational Safety and Health Administration has begun a ...
Read More

U.S. employers could mandate a COVID-19 vaccine, but are unlikely to do so -experts

Private U.S. companies have the right under the law to require employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19, but are unlikely to do so because of the ...
Read More

ASSP Reacts to Fatality Data, Expects Impact at DEI Summit

The American Society of Safety Professionals (ASSP), the world’s oldest professional safety organization, is disheartened by newly released fatality data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). ...
Read More

Follow IHW!

Leaders in Industrial Hygiene

 

AccuTec-IHS
BOWMAN Dispensers, LLC
ENMET
HafcoVac
ILC
Miller Electric
Nilfisk
OHD
SHOWA
TSI

 

Subscribe!

Sign up to receive our industry publications for FREE!

Industrial Hygiene

Construction Safety