I know a lot of us have been working on the art of the smize while wearing masks. Am I
doing it? But it’s been more than a month since this pandemic hit our country, and our
health care workers still don’t have the PPE they need! So I spoke to a few experts
about the supply shortage and what people are trying to do to help.
The mask fiasco has been confusing. #MaxiPadMask And while lack of supplies has led to some
questionable choices, for health care workers on the front lines, the situation has been
deadly. - We're expected to run into work right now
without the proper protection. - We’re getting sick.
- We are mourning our colleagues who have died already!
- Where is the government? Where are our hospitals? Where are our leaders?
Wait a minute, didn’t we fix this problem? - President Trump announced the administration
has reached a deal with the manufacturing giant 3M to produce more than 160 million
masks. - We have masks. We have everything.
- People are hearing the message that there’s enough PPE right now. There is not.
This is Dr. Anu Anandaraja. She founded Covid Courage to connect healthcare workers with
the protection they need. - We were looking at CDC guidelines for how
N95s should be used that were based not on clinical safety and the safety of our healthcare
workers, but based on rationing. What are the dangers of going without PPE?
And can you explain it in terms that a really, really dumb person could understand? Like,
Dr. Fauci does a full facepalm when they talk? In those terms.
- Sending a health worker into a hospital to treat COVID patients without an N95 is
like sending a firefighter into a blaze with no protective gear at all.
And while I personally don't mind seeing firefighters with a little less clothing on, no calendar
is worth this level of risk. - We just updated our wills. And that’s
stuff that I don’t normally have to do as part of my daily clinical practice.
This is Dr. Raja, emergency physician and the man your mother wished you had married.
- It’s frustrating for all of us when we hear government officials, from the president
on down, saying things that we know just aren’t true.
The CDC, for example, has suggested that, in a pinch, healthcare workers just use a
bandana! But Cory Deburghgraeve says that’s not gonna cut it.
- People are telling us, “Uh, just put a bandana on, you’ll be fine.” I’m like,
are you friggin’ kidding? Anesthesiologists are generally the ones that place that breathing
tube. You’re, like, four or five inches away from their face when you do that. I’m
wearing the N95 mask, but it’s a five-day-old mask, and they’re only supposed to be used
once and then thrown away. I have no idea if it’s still filtering properly or not.
These masks are meant to be worn once per patient, not rationed for weeks like my Edible
Arrangements! - We’re looking at essential health workers
taken out of the system due to the lack of personal protective equipment. We had two
junior doctors die in the last week. Two residents. These are trainee doctors. These are our baby
doctors. They died because they did not have one of those on their face and they caught
COVID. I’ve worked in disaster response in other settings, and I’m used to dealing
with scarce resources. But to deal with this level of negligence and this level of resource
scarcity in the United States of America is absolutely infuriating.
Sorry. If you don’t mind for one second, I’m just gonna go into the forest and scream.
Okay. I’m fine now. So yes, the administration finally ordered
some masks three months too late. But they didn’t act fast enough, and now the states
are fighting each other, prices are skyrocketing, and healthcare workers are dying. The people
of this country deserve better than this! And if this big baby won’t help us, we’ll
just have to find someone a little bit more mature.
- My name’s Jack Sloan, I’m 14 years old and I’m 3D printing face shields for healthcare
workers. But don’t be fooled by his learners permit,
Jack means business. - I’m printing this piece, which then goes
like this. And then it attaches to the plastic face shield. The government is trying their
best, but at the same time I kind of expected more aid from them to the doctors and nurses,
rather than that aid coming from 14-year-olds. Yeah, saving the world should not be the job
of a 14-year-old! That’s what 17-year-olds are for! Luckily Jack's not alone. There are
thousands of 3D printers around the country making everything from face shields to ventilator
splitters. - We’ve had this amazing maker community
coming together. But the one thing we have not nailed is the N95 masks.
But Shweta Thapa is working to change that. - I feel it’s my social responsibility to
be able to help out in the best way I can help out. This is what the 3D printer is making
all day and all night. I think it will in the future turn out to be a great supplement
for N95. Wow. Turns out 3D printers aren’t just for
dildos! Everything’s gonna be alri... - This would not be the moment for us to relax.
If we could take this really incredibly seriously, we really could knock this out. But it would
mean getting PPE to the right places. And everyone wearing a face covering. Let's just
get this job done and save some lives. And then let’s learn how to 3D print toilet
paper. - You know I heard there are some books out
there that can probably be used for toilet paper and not be missed from this world.
Yes. I can think of a few books that wouldn’t be missed. One thing’s clear: where the
government has failed, the community is stepping it up. People are sewing masks at home. Factories
are devoting their production lines to protective equipment. And volunteers are delivering PPE
via motorcycle. But we can’t stop until everyone is protected. Until then, all we
can say to healthcare workers is...