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CDC increasing PPE supply for Strategic National Stockpile

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The CDC has ordered $2.7 million in personal protective equipment to increase Strategic National Stockpile supplies to assist hospitals in the United States caring for patients with Ebola, according to a press release.

The products will be configured into 50 kits that can be delivered to hospitals quickly. Each kit will include the personal protective equipment (PPE) needed to manage care for one patient with Ebola for up to 5 days. The products purchased for the kits are based on the PPE guidance for caring for patients with Ebola that the CDC issued on Oct. 20.

Figure 1. CDC personnel are assembling product from the Strategic National Stockpile into an individual PPE, each of which can be used to care for one Ebola patient for up to 5 days.

Source: CDC

The items purchased include impermeable gowns, coveralls and aprons; boot covers; gloves; face shields and hoods; N95 respirators; powered-air purifying respirator systems and ancillaries; and disinfecting wipes. Since the CDC issued the PPE guidance, there has been an increase in demand for PPE. The number of kits being put together for the Strategic National Stockpile is limited, but they will help to address short-term PPE needs.

“We are making certain to not disrupt the orders submitted by states and hospitals, but we are building our stocks so that we can assist when needed,” Greg Burel, director of CDC’s Division of Strategic National Stockpile, said in the press release. “Some of these products are not normally used by hospitals for regular patient care.”

There are alternatives in the CDC guidance that can be used if certain products are unavailable. The CDC is coordinating with manufacturers, distributors and health care facilities to monitor the availability of products in the supply chain. Orders for the Strategic National Stockpile are not being prioritized ahead of orders placed by hospitals.

Hospitals are to coordinate with state public health departments to request PPE supplies from the CDC to care for a patient with Ebola, and the health department will follow the established protocol to submit the request to the CDC.

The CDC’s guidance on PPE can be found at www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/hcp/procedures-for-ppe.html.