Protective equipment supplies for coronavirus ‘inadequate’ in Washington, D.C. lawmakers warn
Washington’s congressional lawmakers Monday said they see evidence throughout the state that health agencies, health workers and emergency personnel lack the protective equipment they need as they work on the front lines of fighting the coronavirus.
The members of Congress wrote Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar that “It is critical that Washington state have access to sufficient PPE (personal protective equipment) as soon as possible to curtail the spread of COVID-19. We urge you to be fully responsive to Washington state’s PPE requests from the National Strategic Stockpile.”
The stockpile, administered by HHS, describes itself as “the nation’s largest supply of potentially life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical supplies for use in a public health emergency severe enough to cause local supplies to run out.”
Washington has been the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, with more than 600 confirmed cases and 40 deaths.
“A lack of PPE threatens to further endanger the state’s health care workforce, amplifying the public health crisis in Washington state.,” wrote the lawmakers, led by Reps. Pramila Jayapal, a Democrat, and Jaime Herrera Beutler, Republican.
Signing the letter were Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, both Democrats, and Reps. Adam Smith, Rick Larsen, Suzan DelBene, Denny Heck, Derek Kilmer, and Kim Schrier, also Democrats.
The lawmakers who did sign wrote that they were “deeply concerned that the current supply of PPE is inadequate to meet the need for PPE in Washington state. As such, we urge you to fulfill requests from Washington state for distribution of PPE from the Strategic National Stockpile now and in the future.”
Many health centers, nursing facilities, fire departments, and other sectors throughout the state have either depleted their supply of the equipment or will run out in a matter of days, the members of Congress said.
They cited the example of the King County Fire Department, which quarantined firefighters due to exposure to COVID-19 without personal protective equipment.
They added that the state’s hospital association association has indicated that facilities throughout Washington are not getting the equipment they sought.
“Meanwhile, the Richmond Beach Rehab Center only has PPE for another week, and their vendor is out of stock, and Vancouver firefighters have been reusing respirators to stretch their limited supply,” the letter said. “In smaller, rural, and island communities, supplies are even more limited, with profound impacts on public health and safety. There are many more examples of how local agencies throughout Washington state are being impacted due to the PPE deficit.”
Vice President Mike Pence said Monday that a provision in legislation now under negotiation in Congress would add “another 30 million masks per month to the supply chain.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2020 at 12:48 PM.
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