WASHINGTON – According to the Department of Health and Human Services, an initiative to provide Americans with free facial coverage has run out of supplies. The deficit comes as the nation struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed nearly 130,000 people in the United States.
In recent days, political leaders from both parties have urged Americans to wear protective covers, which can dramatically reduce the rate of viral transmission, perhaps by as much as 85 percent, according to a study.
Such masks can be made from fabric, and many media outlets have published instructions on how to make face covers at home. Commercially available masks, which some people may prefer, can be expensive, with reusable athletic leggings that retail for about $ 20. Fashion-conscious consumers could buy a $ 60 mask from a French designer. But the shortage made ordinary single-use surgical masks a prohibitive expense for some, especially in a market plagued by speculators.
Project: America Strong was started by the federal government to distribute “reusable cotton liners to critical infrastructure sectors, businesses, health centers, and faith and community organizations across the country to help curb the spread of COVID-19,” according to The project website.
The project appears to have run out of face masks in recent days. “The demand for facial coatings has exceeded the supply. As a result, we are no longer accepting new requests. We are currently evaluating available applications and prioritizing delivery to support populations most susceptible to the disease, ”the website now says.
The deficit was worrying enough for the Department of Homeland Security to notice in an internal document, dated June 28, distributed to federal agencies on the response to the coronavirus and reviewed by Yahoo News.
The document reveals that the Transportation Security Administration, whose agents oversee security checkpoints at the nation’s airports, also faces a possible deficit in facial coatings. “TSA remains susceptible to a shortage of critical PPE items caused by supply chain stress and unreliability, particularly for surgical masks,” an article in the document reads. “PPE” refers to personal protective equipment, a category that typically includes facial coatings, gloves, and hand sanitizer.
HHS confirmed to Yahoo news that it was not accepting new requests for skins. “The face liners were part of a multi-pronged approach to reopen American economic activity while continuing to limit the spread of COVID-19,” wrote a spokesperson. “HHS distributed more than 346.4 million coverages under the Project: America Strong to state, tribal, territorial, local and federal agencies, as well as the transportation sector, long-term care facilities, dialysis centers and other infrastructure sectors critical, as well as religious and voluntary organizations. “
In a statement, a TSA spokesperson wrote: “TSA has an adequate supply of PPE.”
The Trump administration has touted its mastery of coronavirus-related supply chain problems. Those themes belong to the portfolio of Jared Kushner, the president’s influential son-in-law. The son of a New Jersey real estate developer, Kushner lacks experience in supply chain logistics.
Working with John Polowczyk, a senior official at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Kushner implemented the Air Bridge Project, which was intended to expedite the shipment of face masks and other equipment from abroad.
Earlier this month, three top Senate Democrats, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Chuck Schumer of New York, charged that the Airlift Project “has been marked by delay, incompetence, confusion and secrecy.”
It is not clear that the deficit in face masks experienced by HHS or TSA is related to the alleged deficiencies in Project Air Bridge.
Facial masks continue to be critical to the nation’s ability to stop the coronavirus pandemic, which it has so far been unable to do. During a congressional hearing on the coronavirus on Tuesday, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders asked several of the nation’s top medical officials if they would support “increased production of high-quality masks” that would be provided “without I charge every home in America. ” . “
Admiral Brett Giroir, a senior HHS official, said he agreed with the proposal. “That is very important,” he said, “because we need to support the use of masks.”
He said an HHS office working on emergency preparedness had “contracted hundreds of millions of fabric coverings that could be distributed across the country.”
When those masks will arrive, he didn’t say.
Jana Winter contributed reporting to this story.
_____
Read more from Yahoo News:
