CIDRAP-US program sped delivery of 1.2 billion personal protective equipment items during pandemic, report says

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US program sped delivery of 1.2 billion personal protective equipment items during pandemic, report says

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US program sped delivery of 1.2 billion personal protective equipment items during pandemic, report says​

Laine Bergeson

Today at 4:24 p.m.
COVID-19

Public Health


A federal program called Project Airbridge reduced the time it took to bring personal protective equipment (PPE) into the United States during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report from the US Government Accountability Office (GAO).

Delays in PPE shipments may have contributed to the spread of COVID, which killed roughly 1.2 million people in the United States as of June 2024. The Health Industries Distributors Association estimates that medical supplies were delayed an average of 37 days in late 2021, including 17 days at ports, 11 days at rail stations, and nine days by truck, because of increased cargo volume and congestion at ports.

GAO commissioned the report to assess the success of Project Airbridge in expediting PPE delivery across the nation.

Project Airbridge cut PPE shipment time by weeks​

Multiple federal agencies supported Project Airbridge.

From March through June 2020, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) funded 437 flights carrying roughly 1.2 billion PPE items from overseas manufacturers. The shipments included some 945 million gloves, 126 million masks, 67 million gowns, and 5 million N95 respirators. By using air transportation instead of sea transportation, Project Airbridge reduced shipment times from an estimated 40 days to seven days.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prioritized takeoffs and landings for 4,417 flights carrying PPE from April through September 2020 (including flights after Project Airbridge ended). The FAA also issued regulatory exemptions that allowed some passenger airlines to carry cargo in their cabins when passenger travel declined during the pandemic.

The Department of Transportation (DOT) expedited licenses for 2,200 foreign air-cargo flights transporting PPE, primarily from China, from March 2020 to March 2022. The DOT also issued hours-of-service exceptions that allowed motor vehicle operators transporting PPE to go over the maximum of 11 active driving hours within a 14-hour period. Rail operators were issued inspection-and-testing waivers to help expedite PPE transport by rail.

Stakeholders question expanded federal role​

The GAO interviewed 21 transportation representatives, such as port and sea vessel operators, about the PPE supply chain during the pandemic.

Many interviewees said they thought a larger federal role was unnecessary or may have made congestion worse, with several of them saying that the private sector was better suited to expedite PPE.

Stakeholders suggested that the federal government could have increased the amount of communication, guidance, and data it provided.

Several interviewees gave examples of how the federal government could have better supported the industry during the pandemic. “Specifically, stakeholders suggested that the federal government could have increased the amount of communication, guidance, and data it provided to help industry partners leverage transportation networks and identify which shipments contained PPE and needed to be expedited,” notes the report.

“Some stakeholders found that federal information-sharing efforts during the pandemic were helpful, such as the Supply Chain Control Tower’s data on identifying priority areas for PPE distribution,” it adds.

Since the pandemic, the DOT has improved information sharing between the government and the private sector and developed a strategic plan to help make the national freight system more resilient to future disruptions.