5 ms·

I've seen a lot of people suggest not buying the masks when they're in stock at hardware stores so 'hospitals can have some' which I find absolutely hilarious -

I've seen a lot of people suggest not buying the masks when they're in stock at hardware stores so 'hospitals can have some' which I find absolutely hilarious - Just the image of a hospital sending staff down to a Home Depot for some N95 paint masks...

wrkronmiller 7y ago
If there’s no other choice...
- rvnx 7y ago
  I genuinely think doctors may do that if the government doesn't provide masks, doctors would still want to treat patients and ensure their own safety as best as they can.
jtbayly 7y ago
I know a story of an ER doctor sending somebody to the hardware store for a tool. My brother also had a regular tool used during his visit to the ER. I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that they simply purchased it at the hardware store. (It was a dremel with a diamond blade to remove his aircraft-grade aluminum ring from an injured finger. Let that be a warning to you about what you put on your finger.)
- ethbro 7y ago
  Out of morbid curiosity, how'd they get it off? Slip a super-hard, super-thin backer underneath it, then cut? (Aluminum probably being the best scenario, as far as industrial metals go)
  - londons_explore 7y ago
    Just cut directly. A tiny scratch and a tiny burn from the heat of the cutting disc, but nothing worse than a paper cut.
  - jtbayly 7y ago
    They slid a zip-tie under it for protection and another person kept it cool with a tiny stream of water.
- stx 7y ago
  I think you mean tungsten. Aluminum is very soft to cut. Even aluminum used in aircraft is easy to cut.
  - jtbayly 7y ago
    Yeah. I think you must be right.
asdff 7y ago
If you order the masks from the hardware store, then the hardware store is going to order more from the supplier, who gets more from the manufacturer of the n95 filter that also sells them to the hospital mask supplier and fills whichever order comes in first. You are straining the supply chain but it happens a couple notches up, not at the consumer level.
- breakyerself 7y ago
  They really shouldn't just be filling orders first come first serve in a crisis.
  - asdff 7y ago
    Business is business
  - londons_explore 7y ago
    They will fill orders according to whoever is happy to pay the increased price. In the US, paying thousands of dollars for healthcare, hospitals can absorb the cost of masks increasing from 1 cent to 1 dollar.
yokaze 7y ago
There are two problems with buying it without need. There is a shortage, so people in risk groups (elderly people and people with respiratory problems) or people close to those at risk cannot get them. Second, it increases the price, which caused incidents of people stealing them from hospitals to sell them. So, in a way, it is more practical then you think. Not to mention that if it really gets dire, like in Wuhan, then the image becomes less hilarious. (That's why there is the study)
dragonwriter 7y ago
> I've seen a lot of people suggest not buying the masks when they're in stock at hardware stores so 'hospitals can have some' which I find absolutely hilarious - Just the image of a hospital sending staff down to a Home Depot for some N95 paint masks... But that's not the mechanism at issue. The mechanism at issue is they don't get bought at the hardware store in large quantities, the hardware store doesn't order as many to restock, so their direct supplier isn't willing to pay as high a price to the manufacturer so more of the production capacity is available for other uses.
- mantap 7y ago
  It's up to the manufacturers and wholesalers how many they sell to the medical industry vs others. The general public are not the Borg, they don't act with uniformity of purpose. If you tell the public "Don't buy these respirators from the hardware store" and 70% listen, then the other 30% will still buy out all the stock because demand is much higher than supply right now. You can't solve the problem at consumer level.
  - dragonwriter 7y ago
    > It's up to the manufacturers and wholesalers how many they sell to the medical industry vs others. And they respond to demand signals when making that decision.

wrkronmiller 7y ago

If there’s no other choice...

rvnx 7y ago
I genuinely think doctors may do that if the government doesn't provide masks, doctors would still want to treat patients and ensure their own safety as best as they can.

jtbayly 7y ago

I know a story of an ER doctor sending somebody to the hardware store for a tool. My brother also had a regular tool used during his visit to the ER. I don’t think it’s outside the realm of possibility that they simply purchased it at the hardware store. (It was a dremel with a diamond blade to remove his aircraft-grade aluminum ring from an injured finger. Let that be a warning to you about what you put on your finger.)

ethbro 7y ago
Out of morbid curiosity, how'd they get it off? Slip a super-hard, super-thin backer underneath it, then cut? (Aluminum probably being the best scenario, as far as industrial metals go)
- londons_explore 7y ago
  Just cut directly. A tiny scratch and a tiny burn from the heat of the cutting disc, but nothing worse than a paper cut.
- jtbayly 7y ago
  They slid a zip-tie under it for protection and another person kept it cool with a tiny stream of water.
stx 7y ago
I think you mean tungsten. Aluminum is very soft to cut. Even aluminum used in aircraft is easy to cut.
- jtbayly 7y ago
  Yeah. I think you must be right.

asdff 7y ago

If you order the masks from the hardware store, then the hardware store is going to order more from the supplier, who gets more from the manufacturer of the n95 filter that also sells them to the hospital mask supplier and fills whichever order comes in first. You are straining the supply chain but it happens a couple notches up, not at the consumer level.

breakyerself 7y ago
They really shouldn't just be filling orders first come first serve in a crisis.
- asdff 7y ago
  Business is business
- londons_explore 7y ago
  They will fill orders according to whoever is happy to pay the increased price. In the US, paying thousands of dollars for healthcare, hospitals can absorb the cost of masks increasing from 1 cent to 1 dollar.

yokaze 7y ago

There are two problems with buying it without need. There is a shortage, so people in risk groups (elderly people and people with respiratory problems) or people close to those at risk cannot get them. Second, it increases the price, which caused incidents of people stealing them from hospitals to sell them. So, in a way, it is more practical then you think. Not to mention that if it really gets dire, like in Wuhan, then the image becomes less hilarious. (That's why there is the study)

dragonwriter 7y ago

> I've seen a lot of people suggest not buying the masks when they're in stock at hardware stores so 'hospitals can have some' which I find absolutely hilarious - Just the image of a hospital sending staff down to a Home Depot for some N95 paint masks... But that's not the mechanism at issue. The mechanism at issue is they don't get bought at the hardware store in large quantities, the hardware store doesn't order as many to restock, so their direct supplier isn't willing to pay as high a price to the manufacturer so more of the production capacity is available for other uses.

mantap 7y ago
It's up to the manufacturers and wholesalers how many they sell to the medical industry vs others. The general public are not the Borg, they don't act with uniformity of purpose. If you tell the public "Don't buy these respirators from the hardware store" and 70% listen, then the other 30% will still buy out all the stock because demand is much higher than supply right now. You can't solve the problem at consumer level.
- dragonwriter 7y ago
  > It's up to the manufacturers and wholesalers how many they sell to the medical industry vs others. And they respond to demand signals when making that decision.