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Not surprising, the Trump family operates on perception. As long as they are “seen” as having acquired N95 masks, they feel their job is done, doesn’t matter if the masks are legit, if they leak, if they’re made of sub-par materials or even if they get to the medical professionals and others who need them.
I suspect the vast majority of KN95 AND N95 masks that you can buy today are fake. Why? Because the United States of America can’t produce fucking masks! It’s a disgrace.
I’d say the disgrace is not the US does not produce masks but rather the Chinese product is given preference.
I’ve used this example in the past but it still applies. I built a home and in all my contracts with suppliers and subs, it was specified that all products be sourced as close to the building site as possible. One product that some questioned the validity over was my request that US manufactured nails be used. Some subs balked and I passed on contracting their services. Some suppliers said no problem and others said no and/or tried to fake it. There was a simple test to check, pick up a US made nail and try to bend it with one hand, can’t. Do the same with a Chinese nail and easily could bend it. Simply the quality of the steel that was used in manufacturing. Kicker was the US nail in all cases was cheaper than the import. That made zero difference to many. For them, it was the fact that it was easier to acquire the import while they needed to ask for the US product, a matter of 30 seconds but what the hell.
The government is supposed to provide for the welfare of citizens. The patchwork of ignorance and wrong moves in the covid-19 pandemic is really shocking in the US case. One assumption is that the illness is short-lived, but now it seems to linger months in many people. One of the most astounding new consequences to emerge is cachexia, the wasting disease seen e.g. in patients with late-stage lung cancer. Maybe federal agencies need regular coordinated briefings. Now the stakes are more than about waste, it’s about wasting.
This ongoing mask shortage ought to be the biggest national scandal of all time. The Feds knew well enough in JANUARY where this pandemic was headed! Six months later, hospital workers are still cleaning and reusing the same mask every day until it falls apart. Police officers and grocery clerks who choose to wear a mask, have to sew their own because their employers sure aren’t providing any and not even the crappy Chinese knockoffs are widely available.
Being made in China would be a nonissue if they were made well. My personal favorite go-to is the reason I quit shopping at Wal-Mart: a knockoff Leatherman multi-tool that I broke the pliers by the force of my own grip! It’s twice as funny if you know me, because I’m no Hercules!