Hacker News Reader

Comment by wil421 | Hacker News Reader

> The Department of Health and Human Services did fund the invention of a “one-of-a-kind, high-speed machine” that could make 1.5 million N95s per day. But when the design was completed in 2018, the Trump administration did not purchase it.

The administration had a chance to buy machines that could do it but chose not to. Hindsight is 20/20.

> Except that in 2009, while Fuller was in his first job out of college, the H1N1 flu epidemic depleted 85 million N95s from the national stockpile — and the supply was never replenished. In 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017, public health officials published alarming reports warning of a “massive gap” in what remained. Even more concerning, they said, the vast majority of N95s and the materials needed to manufacture them were now being made in Asia.

The previous administration didn’t care either and chose to not replenish stockpiles over a decade ago.

No one cares until it’s their problem.

View on HN

> No one cares until it’s their problem.

I mean, someone cared because we used to have a stockpile. What's wrong with the government today compared to decades ago?

In a pandemic situation where a hospital worker should be using a new mask with each transition to a different patient, they would be using tens of thousands of masks per day per hospital for a decent sized hospital. At that rate even the 85 million masks is just a drop in the bucket.

There’s a very large gap between using a single mask per patient and using a single mask for weeks or months.

If we're going to argue that then take it to its next logical step and just argue that we shouldn't stockpile them at all. I get that the current guy screwed the pooch by not doing what should have been done, but we should also acknowledge that people prior to him also made mistakes and learn from them so we don't repeat it.

But the current guy is THE CURRENT GUY. 2009 Barack Obama isn't the president in September 2020.

Two things can be true at once. It can be true that we should have stockpiles. It can also be true that such stockpiles are only ever going to be sufficient for relatively contained outbreaks like H1N1.

I agree, and that was my point. You seemed to brush off that a previous leader made a mistake because it was less significant than a current leader. I'm saying it's important to recognize that both messed up and in the future we should avoid both mistakes.

Don't the stockpiles help contain outbreaks?

Only in the sense that it could help prevent healthcare workers themselves from becoming carriers. If the disease is "in the wild" and has already gotten past the capacity of contact tracing and containment procedures, it's a moot point.

I'm confused, how does funding the invention of a machine to enable the mass production of masks mean they don't care? Seems to me that the idea was solving problem A meant solving problem B.

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/halyard-health-awar...

> "All government agencies agree that a shortage of respirators will occur during a pandemic. So, we have a real opportunity to demonstrate our expertise and help make a difference in an area of critical need by performing research on the ability to develop an on-demand, high-speed machine that will make use of stockpiled raw materials to produce respirators."

We are talking about the masks specifically. Public health officials cautioned 2 administrations about the US lacking the ability to readily produce masks in the event of a crisis. Specifically saying everything is now in Asia.

Yes, and as a result, the US government contracted a company to develop a machine to be able to create 1.5 million masks per day. Instead of having a stockpile, which itself is not a guarantee of having enough masks, this seems to be the logical path forward. Meaning that those warnings in 2013 and 2014 were heeded and acted on by creating this contract in 2015 (and apparently they contracted two separate companies).

Perhaps you misinterpreted the term respirator to not mean mask?

I see you're much more caustic towards the administration that hasn't been in power for almost 4 years than the actual president who has been in office for almost 4 years.

Not really I am pointing out that both ignored Public Health officials from the beginning.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com