U.S. media: U.S. demand for medical supplies soars, but China has too many foreign orders

According to reports, severe shortages of medical supplies across the United States, including test swabs, protective face shields, surgical gowns and hand sanitizers, may be related to the plunge in imports, mostly from China.

Shipments began to decline in mid-February after China's coronavirus outbreak shut factories and disrupted ports, trade data showed. But some U.S. emergency rooms, hospitals and clinics have run out of critical medical supplies, while others are rationing personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks.

The United States counts on China for the vast majority of medical supplies. But China has infected more than 80,000 people and killed more than 3,200. After medical supply factories in China started to resume production last month, their first priority was to supply their own hospitals.

Manufacturers of N95 masks are required by the government to sell all or some of their products domestically rather than ship the masks to the United States.

The last shipment of medical-grade N95 masks in the United States arrived from China a month ago, on February 19. Only 13 shipments of non-medical N95 masks arrived in the past month, half the number from the same period last year. N95 masks are used in industrial settings and hospitals and can filter out 95% of airborne particles, including particles that ordinary masks cannot block.

Governors across the country are starting to panic as states across the country run out of medical supplies.

U.S. President Donald Trump has urged them to buy masks on the open market, but few are available.

"Without adequate protection, more medical staff in our hospitals could get sick, which means no one will be caring for patients," said Foster, the AMA's vice president for quality and patient safety policy.

Some hospitals only have a day or two of personal protective equipment left, she said.

Imports of hand sanitizer and swabs have both dropped 40% over the past month, and imports of N95 masks have fallen 55%, an AP investigation found.

In mid-February, the World Health Organization warned that global demand for safety equipment in healthcare facilities was 100 times higher than normal. Prices have gone up 20 times, stocks are depleted and will take 4 to 6 months to recover. Still, federal contracting data showed that order submissions were modest at the time.

The Associated Press said U.S. trade policy tariffs on medical supplies, which made them more expensive, were not lifted until March 5. In fact, the American Healthcare Association asked the U.S. government to exempt the tariffs on masks, gloves, protective clothing and other items as early as last year. Now, countries and regions including South Korea and India are blocking the export of medical supplies in order to save the lives of their own citizens, which leaves the United States with no choice.

Calleja, president of the American Healthcare Supply Chain Association, said in response, "The lag time may be as long as several weeks. It may take months."

According to David Tan, president of the American College of Emergency Physicians, doctors, nurses and first responders in the United States spray bleach on masks after get off work every day and hang them at home to dry for reuse the next day.

"As you can imagine, going to work and not knowing if you're going to have enough personal protective equipment is a bit of an anxiety," he said.

The reduction in the number of swabs included multiple varieties, not just those needed to test for the coronavirus, the report said. For weeks, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has been warning state and local health departments about a shortage of swabs, a key test needed to contain the coronavirus.

Hand sanitizers, usually from China, are disappearing from U.S. stores, and will likely remain scarce. At this time last year, 223 shipments had arrived. This year, there have been just 157 shipments since January. This shortage affects patients because they cannot be tested. But even more at risk are medical staff. According to reports, at present, dozens of doctors, nurses and medical staff have been infected with the virus.

Nurses across the country are reporting that they are not getting proper personal protective equipment and that their hospitals do not have the isolation rooms needed to safely care for coronavirus patients, the American Nurses Federation said.

"It's not safe here at all, no one is safe," said Vargas, an emergency room nurse at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. Before work on Friday, after a possible encounter at work, she went to a local hardware store and bought all the painters booties and jumpsuits they had to wear while caring for someone.

Some Chinese companies told The Associated Press this week that they would resume exports, which would lead to higher prices, but they were already overwhelmed and unable to meet demand. "Chinese mask manufacturers have received too many orders from abroad, but they don't have time to produce and ship them all," said the head of a production company in Ningbo, China.