Contributing factors to personal protective equipment shortages during the COVID-19 pandemic

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

卷:141

Review

Cohen, Jennifer^1,2  Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen^3,4 

[1] Miami Univ, Dept Global & Intercultural Studies, 501 E High St, Oxford, OH 45056 USA

[2] Univ Witwatersrand, Ezintsha, Wits Reprod Hlth & HIV Inst, Dept Med,Fac Hlth Sci, 32 Princess Wales Terr,Sunnyside Off Pk,Block D, ZA-2193 Johannesburg, South Africa

[3] Rutgers State Univ, Dept Labor Studies & Employment Relat, 94 Rockafeller Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA

[4] Rutgers State Univ, Dept Womens Gender & Sexual Studies, 94 Rockafeller Rd, Piscataway, NJ 08854 USA

关键词: Personal protective equipment;    COVID-19;    Coronavirus;    N95;    Gloves;    PPE;    Nurses;    Supply chain;    Shortage;    Public good;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106263

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

This study investigates the forces that contributed to severe shortages in personal protective equipment in the US during the COVID-19 crisis. Problems from a dysfunctional costing model in hospital operating systems were magnified by a very large demand shock triggered by acute need in healthcare and panicked marketplace behavior that depleted domestic PPE inventories. The lack of effective action on the part of the federal government to maintain and distribute domestic inventories, as well as severe disruptions to the PPE global supply chain, amplified the problem. Analysis of trade data shows that the US is the world's largest importer of face masks, eye protection, and medical gloves, making it highly vulnerable to disruptions in exports of medical supplies. We conclude that market prices are not appropriate mechanisms for rationing inputs to health because health is a public good. Removing the profit motive for purchasing PPE in hospital costing models, strengthening government capacity to maintain and distribute stockpiles, developing and enforcing regulations, and pursuing strategic industrial policy to reduce US dependence on imported PPE will help to better protect healthcare workers with adequate supplies of PPE.

【 授权许可】

Free