Treyfish
Moderator
MAR 4 20201:55 PM EST
UPDATED 27 MIN AGO
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.@BERKELEYJR
KEY POINTS
The agency said its pandemic planning assumptions estimate the U.S. health-care system will need up to 3.5 billion N95 respirator masks over a year. The Strategic National Stockpile, the nation’s emergency stockpile of drugs and medical supplies, currently holds approximately 12 million medical-grade N95 respirator masks and 30 million surgical face masks, according to an HHS spokesperson. That’s a small fraction of the number of masks needed in a pandemic scenario. So-called N95 masks are preferred by medical professionals because they filter out about 95% of all liquid or airborne particles.
Health and Human Services official Dr. Robert Kadlec apparently misspoke while testifying Tuesday before the Senate health committee, repeating Republican Sen. Mitt Romney’s incorrect math when he asked Kadlec: “What percent of what would be needed by medical professionals if we were to have a full-blown pandemic?”
“If it were to be a severe event, we would need 3.5 billion N95 respirator masks. We have about 35 million,” Kadlec said.
Romney said, “So, about 10%?”
“Ten percent, and we’re actively working on that,” Kadlec said.
An HHS spokesperson, when contacted by CNBC after the hearing, confirmed that the U.S. has 42 million N95 and surgical masks in its stockpile and will need roughly 3.5 billion if a pandemic erupts here — which comes to about 1.2%...:tiphat:
UPDATED 27 MIN AGO
Berkeley Lovelace Jr.@BERKELEYJR
KEY POINTS
- HHS clarified Wednesday that the U.S. has about 1%, not 10%, of the required respirator masks that would be needed if the COVID-19 outbreak were to erupt into a pandemic.
- The Strategic National Stockpile currently holds approximately 12 million medical-grade N95 masks and 30 million surgical face masks.
The agency said its pandemic planning assumptions estimate the U.S. health-care system will need up to 3.5 billion N95 respirator masks over a year. The Strategic National Stockpile, the nation’s emergency stockpile of drugs and medical supplies, currently holds approximately 12 million medical-grade N95 respirator masks and 30 million surgical face masks, according to an HHS spokesperson. That’s a small fraction of the number of masks needed in a pandemic scenario. So-called N95 masks are preferred by medical professionals because they filter out about 95% of all liquid or airborne particles.
Health and Human Services official Dr. Robert Kadlec apparently misspoke while testifying Tuesday before the Senate health committee, repeating Republican Sen. Mitt Romney’s incorrect math when he asked Kadlec: “What percent of what would be needed by medical professionals if we were to have a full-blown pandemic?”
“If it were to be a severe event, we would need 3.5 billion N95 respirator masks. We have about 35 million,” Kadlec said.
Romney said, “So, about 10%?”
“Ten percent, and we’re actively working on that,” Kadlec said.
An HHS spokesperson, when contacted by CNBC after the hearing, confirmed that the U.S. has 42 million N95 and surgical masks in its stockpile and will need roughly 3.5 billion if a pandemic erupts here — which comes to about 1.2%...:tiphat: