In the present pandemic, with massive shortages
of medical equipment, central
planning and rationing is an imperative.
Until the shortages end, the market can’t be trusted to rationally
allocate N95 masks and respirators. The
federal government is the only entity that can develop a unified perspective on
the areas of greatest need, and prioritize accordingly. So it’s disheartening to learn that the Trump
Administration’s catastrophic incompetence continues.
Almost 1.5 million N95 respirator
masks are in a U.S. government warehouse in Indiana, according to the Washington
Post.
Their expiration date has passed, but Centers for Disease Control
guidelines say they can be safely used during the coronavirus
outbreak. A rational government would
immediately be shipping them to New York and Los Angeles, where the lack of
protective gear is placing irreplaceable medical professionals in mortal
danger.
Instead, the Department of Homeland Security,
which controls the warehouse, has decided to offer the masks to the
Transportation Security Administration.
Its staff doesn’t face nearly the danger of the doctors who are treating
known, and sometimes virulent, cases.
But, the Post reports, its “workforce has been clamoring for protective
equipment.” The agency “has no plans to
offer the masks to hard-hit hospitals, or hand them over to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency.”
“Health officials in Los Angeles County said its
emergency supply of N95 masks is exhausted, encouraging doctors and nurses to
consider reusing the disposable masks for multiple patients, a practice that is
generally avoided because of the risk of spreading the virus among patients and
hospital rooms.” An administration
official said that the masks are not going to FEMA because it already has a
large number of masks coming. Meanwhile
the states are in a frenzied
hunt for equipment, and report that they are getting a small fraction of
what they have requested.
The Republicans hesitate to intervene in
markets. But can’t they make rational
decisions about the resources that the federal government itself already
possesses?