General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump Axed Massive Mask Manufacturing Plan in 2018
In September 2018, the Trump administration received detailed plans for a new machine designed to churn out millions of protective respirator masks at high speed during a pandemic.
The plans, submitted to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) by medical manufacturer O&M Halyard, were the culmination of a venture unveiled almost three years earlier by the Obama administration.
But HHS did not proceed with making the machine.
The project was one of two N95 mask ventures totaling $9.8 million that the federal government embarked on over the past five years to better prepare for pandemics.
The other involves the development of reusable masks to replace the single-use variety currently so scarce that medical professionals are using theirs over and over. Expert panels have advised the government for at least 14 years that reusable masks were vital.
That effort, like the quick mask machine, has not led to a single new mask for the governments response.
Sign up for our Coronavirus Updates newsletter to track the outbreak. All stories linked in the newsletter are free to access.
The Halyard contract was part of an explicit strategy to ensure we could surge mask production in the next crisis, said Nicole Lurie, who was the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response under Barack Obama. Now were dealing with the consequences of not having that capability.
Halyard said Thursday in a statement that its work on the government contract was completed in September 2018. A spokeswoman declined to give additional details.
An HHS spokesperson, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told The Washington Post that although Halyards plans were feasible, no funding was available to build the machine.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/federal-government-spent-millions-to-ramp-up-mask-readiness-but-that-isnt-helping-now/2020/04/03/d62dda5c-74fa-11ea-a9bd-9f8b593300d0_story.html
cayugafalls
(5,645 posts)keithbvadu2
(36,937 posts)And Trump falsely claims that Obama left him empty shelves?
Response to keithbvadu2 (Reply #2)
Name removed Message auto-removed
The Magistrate
(95,255 posts)SheltieLover
(57,073 posts)And now professionals are endangered, ill, & yes, some have died. This type of decision, imho, should never be left up yo 1 person.
I keep wondering, presuming we have wh, senate & house, what changes can be made to prevent this type of situation, while preserving democratic principles, going foreward.
Understandably, authors of the Constitution could never have imagined a traitor in the white house.