4 ms·

The N95 shortage America can’t seem to fix

18 points by justin66 6y ago

justin66 6y ago
“Even though we are making more respirators than ever before and have dramatically increased production,” 3M spokeswoman Jennifer Ehrlich said, “the demand is more than we, and the entire industry, can supply for the foreseeable future.”
legitster 6y ago
On NPR they ran an interview with a manufacturer who just started the process of tooling up to build N95 masks. The problem is that by the time production starts, they are not sure if there will be enough demand for long enough at prices that will let them pay off the setup costs. Classic Econ 101 problem. The federal government could have made things a lot easier if they just announced a plan to buy up all excess masks at market price for the next two years. We could certainly use the stockpile anyway.
1MachineElf 6y ago
Most Americans have never worn an N95 mask before, and I'm betting that the majority of them wouldn't want to wear them again after trying them on just once. Those things are effective, but both majorly uncomfortable & inconvenient to put on/off.
- justin66 6y ago
  I wonder why you would write any of this. N95 masks were a staple at stores like Home Depot and Lowes prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. They were comfortable enough to be a popular item. There is clearly a shortage, with demand exceeding supply.
  - peatmoss 6y ago
    Exactly. I use these for woodworking or any other project where I might otherwise be breathing harmful dust. They are nice when forest fires start smoking up the place too. Hell, I’ve used them during peak allergy season as a surefire drug-free solution to allergy woes. I prefer the vented variety that allow unimpeded exhalation when there isn’t a global pandemic on.
- nicwolff 6y ago
  No idea what you're talking about. N95s like the 9205+ shown in the article are lightweight and not less comfortable or harder to put on/off than any cloth mask. I do re-staple the bands to make mine go behind the ear instead of around the back of my head, and I get about the same fit as an AirQueen, the South Korean FFP2 masks that are now widely available – and what we should all have been wearing since February.
mullen 6y ago
Trump administration has completely bungled the pandemic response. There was no reason they could have gone out to all of the American N95 mask/respirator manufactures and told them to expand their production and the government would buy an excess or else they would nationalize their production lines. If all of the extra masks were not used, it would not like were not going to need a huge mountain of N95 masks sitting in government storage for the next 5 years in case COVID-22 makes an appearance. Even in 2029 when those masks expired (Assuming they have a 10 year shelf life) and they have to be thrown away, it would still be a good investment to have them sitting around just waiting, just in case. This administration just has no ability to see into the future at all.
- jjeaff 6y ago
  Heck, keep them around when they do expire. I'm sure effectiveness starts to drop off at some age, but it's probably longer than 10 years. And I would sure rather have an expired mask than no mask at all.
  - mensetmanusman 6y ago
    Some brands of filter membrane has been shown effective after 20 years. It is stockpileable. To prepare for this pandemic, we needed 5-10 years of 24/6 production.
crowf 6y ago
I wonder what would happen if price gauging laws were removed. Suddenly there wouldn't be as much of a risk that the demand will abruptly end (eg. a vaccine) and leave them in debt due to all of the the new factories that they built, since after much less masks they will get a return on their investment

18 points by justin66 6y ago

“Even though we are making more respirators than ever before and have dramatically increased production,” 3M spokeswoman Jennifer Ehrlich said, “the demand is more than we, and the entire industry, can supply for the foreseeable future.”

legitster 6y ago

On NPR they ran an interview with a manufacturer who just started the process of tooling up to build N95 masks. The problem is that by the time production starts, they are not sure if there will be enough demand for long enough at prices that will let them pay off the setup costs. Classic Econ 101 problem. The federal government could have made things a lot easier if they just announced a plan to buy up all excess masks at market price for the next two years. We could certainly use the stockpile anyway.

1MachineElf 6y ago

Most Americans have never worn an N95 mask before, and I'm betting that the majority of them wouldn't want to wear them again after trying them on just once. Those things are effective, but both majorly uncomfortable & inconvenient to put on/off.

justin66 6y ago
I wonder why you would write any of this. N95 masks were a staple at stores like Home Depot and Lowes prior to the COVID-19 outbreak. They were comfortable enough to be a popular item. There is clearly a shortage, with demand exceeding supply.
- peatmoss 6y ago
  Exactly. I use these for woodworking or any other project where I might otherwise be breathing harmful dust. They are nice when forest fires start smoking up the place too. Hell, I’ve used them during peak allergy season as a surefire drug-free solution to allergy woes. I prefer the vented variety that allow unimpeded exhalation when there isn’t a global pandemic on.
nicwolff 6y ago
No idea what you're talking about. N95s like the 9205+ shown in the article are lightweight and not less comfortable or harder to put on/off than any cloth mask. I do re-staple the bands to make mine go behind the ear instead of around the back of my head, and I get about the same fit as an AirQueen, the South Korean FFP2 masks that are now widely available – and what we should all have been wearing since February.

mullen 6y ago

Trump administration has completely bungled the pandemic response. There was no reason they could have gone out to all of the American N95 mask/respirator manufactures and told them to expand their production and the government would buy an excess or else they would nationalize their production lines. If all of the extra masks were not used, it would not like were not going to need a huge mountain of N95 masks sitting in government storage for the next 5 years in case COVID-22 makes an appearance. Even in 2029 when those masks expired (Assuming they have a 10 year shelf life) and they have to be thrown away, it would still be a good investment to have them sitting around just waiting, just in case. This administration just has no ability to see into the future at all.

jjeaff 6y ago
Heck, keep them around when they do expire. I'm sure effectiveness starts to drop off at some age, but it's probably longer than 10 years. And I would sure rather have an expired mask than no mask at all.
- mensetmanusman 6y ago
  Some brands of filter membrane has been shown effective after 20 years. It is stockpileable. To prepare for this pandemic, we needed 5-10 years of 24/6 production.

crowf 6y ago

I wonder what would happen if price gauging laws were removed. Suddenly there wouldn't be as much of a risk that the demand will abruptly end (eg. a vaccine) and leave them in debt due to all of the the new factories that they built, since after much less masks they will get a return on their investment