MyPillow announced Tuesday that it is now manufacturing face masks for hospitals across the country to help alleviate the national shortage of N95 respirator masks.
The Minnesota-based company announced the news on Twitter Tuesday afternoon and said its masks will not be for sale to the public.
MyPillow is excited to announce that we are now manufacturing face masks for hospitals across the country! pic.twitter.com/KcW4L7i9WC
— MyPillow (@MyPillowUSA) March 24, 2020
“MyPillow has joined the fight against COVID-19. We are now producing face masks for our nation’s health care workers,” MyPillow founder Mike Lindell wrote in a tweet.
.@MyPillowUSA has joined the fight against #COVID19. We are now producing face masks for our nation’s #healthcareworkers. These will not be for sale to the public. I will be sharing more details with @edhenry on @FoxNews this morning at 10:30 a.m. CT #strongertogether pic.twitter.com/IQBMqNbcJg
— Mike Lindell (@realMikeLindell) March 25, 2020
Several states including Minnesota have ordered health care workers to cancel all elective or non-essential surgeries in order to help preserve the national stockpile of personal protective equipment, such as gloves and face masks.
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota recently joined Allina Health in asking for volunteers for a statewide effort “to sew and donate CDC-approved medical masks for hospitals and clinics in need.” Allina Health said the masks won’t be used by doctors on the front lines, but can be used as a backup for patients and office staff.
We're proud to join @AllinaHealth to lead a statewide effort encouraging volunteers to sew and donate CDC-approved medical masks for hospitals and clinics in need. #covid19 #coronavirus pic.twitter.com/AEjDyfpGpz
— Blue Cross of MN (@BlueCrossMN) March 21, 2020
Various reports released Tuesday claimed that President Barack Obama’s administration failed to replenish the Strategic National Stockpile, which is overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services, after the H1N1 pandemic of 2009.
The national stockpile distributed roughly three-quarters of its inventory and didn’t replenish the supply, The Minnesota Sun reported. One health official said that the stockpile was depleted of nearly 100 million masks during outbreak.
President Donald Trump has ordered the Department of Defense to provide five million N95 respirator masks and 2,000 ventilators to hospitals across the nation. The president also ordered construction companies to donate their inventories of the N95 masks.
Vice President Mike Pence visited a 3M facility in Minnesota earlier this month to ask the company to shift to “full capacity” in its production of N95 respirators. The president, however, has yet to invoke the Defense Production Act, which would order private companies to increase production of face masks and other protective gear.
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of The Minnesota Sun and The Ohio Star. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected]
