American Vet

Despite spending the past few weeks assuring Americans that wearing a face mask in public is not necessary to stop the spread of COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is reportedly reconsidering that stance.

According to The New York Times, the CDC is mulling changes to its guidelines for who should be wearing face masks due to evidence that the COVID-19 outbreak is being spread largely by people lacking symptoms of the disease. There is also mounting circumstantial evidence that countries where mask-wearing is more of a cultural norm have had greater success in containing the disease's spread.

But there's one big problem with all of that: a shortage of medical-grade N95 face masks.

And one of the reasons why America is facing a face mask shortage is the CDC itself. Hospitals are only allowed to purchase masks from suppliers certified by both the CDC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)—though they can accept donations from any source (more on that in a moment). Many foreign companies that make face masks lack those certifications, which limits the imported supply available to meet America's rising demand.

Even suppliers who are certified to sell masks to Americans have to navigate a weeks-long bureaucratic process before orders can be fulfilled. Suppliers who aren't certified by those federal agencies can't legally bring their products into the United States. That means supplies of KN95 masks—a Chinese certification for face masks that 3M Corporation's personal safety division says are "reasonable to consider….as equivalent" to N95 masks—can't be imported legally.

https://reason.com/2020/03/31/america-could-import-countless-more-face-masks-if-federal-regulators-would-get-out-of-the-way/?utm_medium=email

lpnmajor Loc: Arkansas

Now you WANT to trade with China?

zombinis3 Loc: Southwest

Unfortunately the import regs are in place to protect American companies and the people. Agreed the regs should be suspended at the present to allow for the need. That's a step that I don't think is going to be considered.

Lonewolf

Lonewolf

Might be easier to stop shipping the masks we need overseas like they have been doing .
And maybe if trump hadent sent all those ventilators and masks to china we would have them

American Vet

Nope. I simply posted what I think is an interesting article.