A few weeks ago, I received an email from a local FIRST robotics student telling me that her team was starting to print mask inserts for a local hospital, Kaiser. She told me that Prusa, a company that is well-known for making budget 3D printers for makers, had designed a face mask that could be printed out of PLA or PTG, two common polymer materials. She was enlisting help from other robotics teams to pitch in. Naturally, I pitched in, but I couldn't help but wonder why there was such a huge shortage of masks in the first place.
The FDA recommends that surgical grade masks be reserved for those working in the healthcare system. Of course, this relates to the idea of supply and demand. The demand for masks has always been relatively inelastic. However, with the advent of covid-19, we saw a huge surge in demand for these medical-grade masks. The mask-making market was not equipped to respond to such a huge change in demand, and thus we see mask prices rising as we struggle to keep up with an increasing demand for production.
Of course, the mask-making market is slowly ramping up production. Between now and February, mask production in China surged over twenty times its original value, from around 10 million masks to 20 million. Some news sources report that factories are even working at around 110 percent capacity.
Will the United States follow suit? Unlikely. Capitalism makes it difficult for the United States government to promote the mass production of such an item without extensive individual contributions. However, we've seen people like Bill Gates pledge to fund production factories for seven different promising vaccines before the vaccine even makes it through the final stage of the FDA approval process. Perhaps we will, but until then, we'll just have to live accepting these shortages may become the new normal.
Sources
https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/faqs-shortages-surgical-masks-and-gowns
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2020/03/16/814929294/covid-19-has-caused-a-shortage-of-face-masks-but-theyre-surprisingly-hard-to-mak
https://www.amazon.com/Disposable-Hypoallergenic-Breathability-Comfort-Great-Allergies/dp/B078718WVB
This is a very serious issue, as even with good samaritans such as yourself pitching in, the price for health care workers who still have to buy masks is getting insanely high. I also heard that in the beginning of this pandemic, authorities told people that having masks would not help them in order to manage the shortage. Clearly that did not work. It makes me wonder, how should authorities communicate with the public in a way that would actually help stop these shortages?
ReplyDeleteTo throw some geopolitics into the mix: the shortage of PPE in western countries is causing psuedo-piracy and international bidding wars[1]. That report says a US official outbid another country for a mask shipment literally on the on tarmac.
ReplyDeleteDomestically, our decentralized government has forced states to bid against each other on PPE[2] rather than having the federal govt. ration it, which is frankly an inefficiency we don't need right now.
Moreover, apparently the pulp necessary to make N95 masks is most common in Canada and not usually made in the US[3], which is ironic considering the recent 3M drama over exporting PPE to Canada.
[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/02/global-battle-coronavirus-equipment-masks-tests
[2] https://abcnews.go.com/US/competition-state-local-governments-creates-bidding-war-medical/story?id=69961539
[3] https://globalnews.ca/news/6781361/coronavirus-masks-nanaimo-pulp-mill/
This was an interesting read, and I really love the fact that you and other robotics teams are doing something about the shortage. I think with the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been a lot of panic buying with toilet paper, food, hand sanitizer, and face masks (and you mentioned). My family, especially my mom, has unfortunately purchased more than we probably need. As a result of this panic buying, there are many shortages in many essential items. Even when officials warn that face masks will not prevent the spread and even when most individuals know about these dangerous shortages, this doesn't stop. I think during these times we become more selfish, even if doctors won't be able to have access to face masks to save the lives of their patients. It's really sad. I was thinking, is there a realistic way that we can allow others to have empathy for others by purchasing only the things they need? I honestly have no clue.
ReplyDelete3M actually started to ramp up production of n95 masks back in January, when people started to buy up n95 masks to ship to China. However, it takes months to refit production lines, so we are just beginning to see the effects now. Even so, the demand for the masks far exceed the supply that we have on hand.
ReplyDelete