N95 masks are still needed as America reopens and Covid-19 cases surge - Vox

In the early weeks of the pandemic, it was nearly impossible to buy N95 masks. These masks, unlike surgical masks or cloth masks, are tight-fitting and filter airborne particles that can carry the virus, making them a key source of protection for health care workers, some of whom have died after being exposed to Covid-19 at their medical facilities. Now, as the United States continues to reopen and the number cases and hospitalizations surge, that troubling shortage of personal protective equipment — and especially N95 masks — is once again a problem. ....
https://www.vox.com/recode/2020/7/10/21319960/n95-masks-shortage-trump-supply-chain

Survey shows resources for COVID-19 diagnostic testing still limited months later - ABC News

As states begin to loosen COVID-19 restrictions and businesses and schools consider reopening, testing is repeatedly cited as a key component in mitigating risk and returning to a new normal. Many labs in the United States are still reporting a shortage of the supplies and personal protective equipment needed to test patients for COVID-19, according to an ongoing survey conducted by the American Association for Clinical Chemistry. Without these resources, experts say labs across the country are unable to meet the growing demands and provide critical results for making decisions about isolation and contact tracing.
https://abcnews.go.com/Health/survey-shows-resources-covid-19-diagnostic-testing-limited/story

Senators seek investigation into Project Airbridge deliveries of protective medical gear - The Washington Post:

A request for an independent review was sent to the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senators-seek-investigation-into-project-airbridge-deliveries-of-protective-medical-gear/2020/06/09/935b2454-a516-11ea-bb20-ebf0921f3bbd_story.html

Exclusive: US has three months to rebuild medical supplies stockpile, Obama administration scientists warn

Nine top scientists who advised Barack Obama in the White House are warning that the US has just three months to rebuild its national stockpile of emergency medical supplies or risk further drastic shortages of testing kits and protective gear should coronavirus strike again in the fall. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/20/exclusive-obama-us-national-stockpile-trump-coronavirus

Trump’s new press secretary FALLS ON HER FACE trying to blame Obama for lack of PPE

Trump's new press secretary just fell on her face trying to blame Obama for the lack of personal protective equipment.
https://youtu.be/hisd_PeMEK8

Trump horrifies health workers by saying it’s ‘beautiful’ to watch them ‘running into death’ – Raw Story

As healthcare workers across the U.S. continue to protest the federal government’s failure to provide adequate personal protective equipment and ensure strict workplace safety standards to protect them from Covid-19, President Donald Trump on Thursday—standing in front of stacked boxes of medical supplies—said that frontline nurses and doctors “running into death just like soldiers run into bullets” is “a beautiful thing to see.”
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/05/trump-horrifies-health-workers-by-saying-its-beautiful-to-watch-them-running-into-death/

Kushner COVID-19 team prioritized PPE bids from Trump associates: NYT - Business Insider

When the US coronavirus outbreak began, there were concerns about healthcare workers getting the protective gear they needed. So the senior White House adviser Jared Kushner, the son-in-law of President Donald Trump, formed a group of volunteers to sort through hundreds of leads on personal protective equipment and funnel the most promising ones to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which is in charge of distributing supplies to states and medical workers.

But according to a new report by The New York Times, the volunteers were in fact prioritizing tips from close Trump associates, resulting in multiple botched deals.....
https://www.businessinsider.com/jared-kushner-coronavirus-task-force-prioritized-ppe-trump-associates-nyt-2020-5

'Little or no transparency': Warren wants data on White House medical supply program - ABC News

Two Senate Democrats are now probing 'Project Airbridge,' the Trump administration program aimed at getting medical supplies to hospitals amid the pandemic, warning the effort is too opaque. While the White House has touted the Jared Kushner-backed program as an innovative public-private partnership designed to clear logistical logjams and bureaucratic red tape, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., are worried that the administration is not doing enough to facilitate the supply of personal protective equipment to communities battling the coronavirus.
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/transparency-warren-data-white-house-medical-supply-program/story

Most doctors don't want to be political activists, but coronavirus forces us to act

Believe me, many doctors would prefer to avoid the topic of politics altogether. Unfortunately, that is no longer possible ....
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/apr/22/doctors-coronavirus-political-activists

Virginia governor says it's 'delusional' for Trump to say states have testing capacity | TheHill

Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam (D) said Sunday that his state does not have the necessary coronavirus testing capacity, directly challenging comments made by President Trump the day before. “That’s just delusional to be making statements like that,” Northam said on CNN’s “State of the Union” when asked about Trump’s comments that there is enough testing across the country. Northam said his state has been fighting “every day” for personal protective equipment and for testing.....
https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/493539-virginia-governor-says-its-delusional-for-trump-to-say-states-have

For little work, Grainger sold suits to U.S. for double the cost

As the silent partner in a deal heralded by President Donald Trump, Grainger got $7.96 per coverall from U.S. after buying them from DuPont for $4 apiece.
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/little-work-grainger-sold-suits-u-s-double-cost-n1187061

The HHS Inspector General Report - FactCheck.org

In a testy exchange with reporters, President Donald Trump questioned the political motivations of an administration inspector general, claiming that her report on hospital experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic was “wrong.” The report gave the results of a survey of 323 hospitals across the country.
https://www.factcheck.org/2020/04/the-hhs-inspector-general-report/

US exports of masks, PPE to China surged in early phase of coronavirus

U.S. exports of surgical masks, ventilators and other personal protective gear to China skyrocketed in January and February, when the coronavirus was wreaking havoc in the country where it began and as U.S. intelligence agencies warned it would soon spread. American companies sold more than $17.5 million worth of face masks, more than $13.6 million in surgical garments and more than $27.2 million in ventilators to China during the first two months of the year, far exceeding that of any other similar period in the past decade, according to the most recent foreign trade data available from the U.S. Census Bureau.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/investigations/2020/04/02/us-exports-masks-ppe-china-surged-early-phase-coronavirus/5109747002/

Doctor who criticized hospital's measures against coronavirus is fired | TheHill

A Washington state emergency room doctor who spoke out about what he called a lack of protective measures being implemented against the coronavirus at his hospital has been fired. Dr. Ming Lin wrote in a Facebook post on Friday that he was terminated from his job at PeaceHealth St. Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham, Wash. ....
https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/489969-doctor-who-criticized-hospitals-measures-against-coronavirus-is

‘Failure of the worst kind’: Republican blasts Trump for forcing states to compete with each other to obtain protective gear – Raw Story

In a series of tweets over the weekend, the Republican Senate Majority Leader of Arkansas lashed out Donald Trump’s administration for leaving states in dire need of medical supplies hanging as the coronavirus pandemic grips the country. Senator Jim Hendren — who is related to former U.S. Sen Tim Hutchinson (R) and current Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) — complained about the lack of access to federal stockpiles of the much-needed personal protective equipment (PPE) which is forcing his state into a bidding war with other states.
https://www.rawstory.com/2020/03/failure-of-the-worst-kind-republican-blasts-trump-for-forcing-states-to-compete-with-each-other-to-obtain-protective-gear/