States Scramble for Masks, Body Bags as FEMA Supply Falters
Demand for Ventilators, Masks, Body Bags Outstrips FEMA’s Supply
(Bloomberg) --
The demand for masks, gloves, face shields and even body bags to help states deal with the coronavirus pandemic has outstripped the federal government’s ability to respond, leading governors to make pleas directly to the White House or turn to private benefactors for help.
In Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker said Thursday that the owner of the National Football League’s New England Patriots sent their team plane to China to fetch N95 respirator masks. The plane was expected to land in Boston Thursday afternoon, carrying most of the 1.4 million masks the state bought from suppliers in China.
Patriot’s owner Robert Kraft personally purchased 300,000 N95 masks that he plans to provide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose state is an epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic. Cuomo said the federal government isn’t able to provide equipment to meet the national need.
“I’m sure the federal government would do anything they can do to help,” Cuomo said at a briefing Thursday. “The question is, what can they do? I don’t know the answer to that question.”
At a White House briefing on Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence said that guidance on wearing masks would be coming out “in the days ahead.” President Donald Trump suggested that wearing a mask was an option. But Deborah Birx, the top public health official coordinating the coronavirus task force, said it was “not a substitute” for other precautions Americans ought to be taking, including social distancing and washing their hands regularly.
Colorado Governor Jared Polis directly appealed by letter to Pence, the head of the U.S. coronavirus task force, warning him of a “crisis-level” shortage of protective equipment for first responders and health care workers.
Illustrating the issue, the House Oversight Committee on Thursday released documents showing the requests from five states and Washington D.C. that make up a regional grouping for the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The states asked for a combined total of 5 million masks but got less than 500,000 by the end of March.
15,000 Body Bags
One of the states, Maryland, asked for 15,000 body bags but received none as of the end of March. The state also sought 778,129 face masks and 421,532 N95 respirators and only received a fraction of each. Maryland had 2,331 confirmed cases and 36 deaths as of Thursday afternoon, according to Johns Hopkins University.
“The president must act immediately to take all steps within his authority to get personal protective equipment and medical supplies to our nation’s front line responders who are risking everything to save their fellow Americans,” said House Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney.
An emailed statement from FEMA on Wednesday said the agency’s own planning acknowledged that it wouldn’t have enough supplies to meet all needs of the states, and that the federal government is working to obtain medical supplies and other items needed to fight the virus.
Masks are in high demand and short supply. FEMA officials told committee leaders on an April 1 call that trying to buy masks on the open market would be like “chasing rabbits in an open field,” because many domestic suppliers are not able to locate available supplies, according to a readout of the call from the committee.
Short on Ventilators
Maryland and the District of Columbia also requested ventilators. As of March 30, Maryland had received 138 out of 200 requested, while D.C. had received none of the 20 it requested from FEMA.
Mike Ricci, a spokesman for Maryland’s Republican Governor Larry Hogan, said the documents released by the Oversight Committee show that “no state has enough of what it needs to fight this pandemic.
“The nation’s governors will continue to use all of the tools at their disposal to get the critical resources needed to save lives and slow the spread of the virus,” Ricci said in a statement.
FEMA officials also told the committee that most of the 100,000 ventilators that Trump promised will not be available until late June at the earliest.
The other states in the FEMA region are Delaware, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.
Certain items, such as face shields, appear to be in high demand from states, but none have been sent out by FEMA, according to the House committee.
The shortages are widespread.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order to commandeer supplies for hospitals, including masks and ventilators, from health-care facilities that aren’t operating. The state has been taking inventory of such equipment in recent days.
The governor appealed for donations of more personal protection equipment for first responders and medical workers.
“In a perfect world, I’d love to be South Korea,” Murphy said of that government’s massive response to the virus with equipment and personnel.
‘Far Worse’
Wyoming’s health department on Thursday said it will limit Covid-19 tests to “priority patients and situations” because of “testing supply issues.” Diagnostic priority will be given to patients and staff in hospitals and nursing homes, people over 65, pregnant women and first responders.
Polis, in his March 28 letter to Pence, said the situation in Colorado is “far worse than we imagined.”
“I am asking that you increase the ventilators and PPE that is being sent to Colorado for this critical moment, to help us safely cross the bridge ahead of us until we can start to reap the benefits of our other unprecedented procurement and manufacturing efforts,” Polis said.
Polis said Colorado requested from FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services 10,000 ventilators, 2 million N95 masks and more than 4 million surgical masks in addition to other protective equipment.
Colorado plans to add 5,000 intensive-care beds by April 18 as well as 2,000 beds in temporary hospitals. At a briefing Thursday, Mike Willis, director of the Office of Emergency Management, said the state is working on contracts and construction has yet to begin. State officials hope to find temporary shelters for the homeless and others by May 15, he said.
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