Hospitals are already looking ahead to flu season, which officials believe will be complicated by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an article on the Observer-Reporter website.
As part of that planning, hospitals are stockpiling personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, face shields and gowns.
Allegheny Health Network’s Canonsburg Hospital in Washington County, Pa., for instance, is preparing for the likelihood COVID-19 will persist.
The pandemic has strained the worldwide supply of PPE, including masks, face shields and gowns. Mask-maker 3M Co. said despite doubling its production of N-95 respirators and working around the clock, global demand caused by the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exceed the ability of suppliers to manufacture it.
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