Rising COVID-19 Infections Spark Fears of New PPE Shortage July 8, 2020

The dramatic rise in COVID-19 cases across the United States has sparked concerns of a new PPE shortage similar to what the nation's healthcare system faced in March.

Nationally the U.S. is seeing a spike in positive tests. Now many hospital systems in hot-spots are seeing rising hospitalization rates which, even with lower death rates, is taxing health care professionals' ability to protect themselves from infection. Last week, the American Medical Association (AMA) sent a letter to Vice President Mike Pence and FEMA advocating for a national PPE distribution system and buying program. This would create a more concerted effort to get much-needed PPE to virus hot-spots without having states and localities compete against each other. 

The National Nurses Union this week also released the results of a member survey showing shortages of PPE for many members. “We’re five months into this and there are still shortages of gowns, hair covers, shoe covers, masks, N95 masks,” said Deborah Burger, president of National Nurses United. “They’re being doled out, and we’re still being told to reuse them.”

Locally, Tuesday saw the second-highest combined number of COVID-19 cases in almost a month. The District reported 54 new cases and no new fatalities. Overall the DMV had seen a slow decline in new cases and deaths, but concerns about Virginia entering "phase three" re-opening prior to other jurisdictions puts a spotlight on any jumps in cases.