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FDA releases first pandemic supply shortage list

Respirator masks are among the most effective forms of protection health care workers have against contracting COVID-19. (Image courtesy of Sandia)

Months into the coronavirus pandemic, the FDA has released its first official list of shortages of items needed by healthcare workers.

The list ranges from personal protective equipment (PPE) such as gowns and gloves to testing supplies and ventilation-related products for the sickest patients. The list also includes Becton Dickinson (NYSE:BDX) BodyGuard infusion pump and syringe pump systems, which were discontinued in April following a Class 1 recall.

Frontline healthcare workers have spoken out about PPE shortages since the pandemic began hitting the U.S. hard earlier this year, even setting up their own supply lines such as GetUsPPE, a volunteer organization connecting healthcare providers with supplies of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic. GetUsPPE’s …

FDA signals PPE shortage, issues EUA for more

This map by GetUsPPE shows where shortages of personal protective equipment are most acute in the U.S.

The FDA has issued a call for manufacturers to produce more non-surgical gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE) as the coronavirus pandemic makes its way across the country.

The emergency use authorization issued Friday also listed conductive shoes and shoe covers, operating room shoes and shoe covers, surgical helmets and caps and other surgical accessories.

The FDA said it issued the EUA in response to concerns about shortages of gowns and other apparel for use by healthcare personnel. Earlier this month, the agency said that healthcare organizations had informed the agency that some distributors may be allocating PPE basing on a health system’s previous use rather than its projected use.

Shortages of PPE prompted a recent article in The Lancet, based on a study by GetUsPP…

Study: PPE shortages persist nationwide

(Image from GetUsPPE)

Shortages of personal protective equipment continue to plague hospitals and healthcare facilities across the United States, according to a study published this week in The Lancet.

The study reports on data collected by GetUsPPE, a volunteer organization connecting healthcare providers with supplies of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic and was authored by academics and volunteers from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Google and Pymetrics.

Most of the 6,169 hospitals, healthcare and other facilities — including nursing homes — that made PPE requests through GetUsPPE asked for N95 respirators (74%), surgical masks (64%), gowns (61%), and face shields (60%), according to the study. High COVID-19 infection and death rates have been reported at nursing homes across the country.

Metropolitan areas comprised 5,416 (8…

Study: PPE shortages persist nationwide

(Image from GetUsPPE)

Shortages of personal protective equipment continue to plague hospitals and healthcare facilities across the United States, according to a study published this week in The Lancet.

The study reports on data collected by GetUsPPE, a volunteer organization connecting healthcare providers with supplies of PPE during the COVID-19 pandemic and was authored by academics and volunteers from Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Google and Pymetrics.

Most of the 6,169 hospitals, healthcare and other facilities — including nursing homes — that made PPE requests through GetUsPPE asked for N95 respirators (74%), surgical masks (64%), gowns (61%), and face shields (60%), according to the study. High COVID-19 infection and death rates have been reported at nursing homes across the country.

Metropolitan areas comprised 5,416 (8…