The reason N95 masks aren't a good example is that there are manufacturers in the US, and were, already. Prestige Ameritech is one, and it could easily have sc

The reason N95 masks aren't a good example is that there are manufacturers in the US, and were, already. Prestige Ameritech is one, and it could easily have scaled up very quickly, but couldn't afford to do so and then scale back down within a few months (they've been through this). So, they needed someone to guarantee that they'd be able to sell enough to be worth the investment of building out capability. There were a bunch of stories about this company back in the beginning of the pandemic.