3M previously said it has doubled global output of the masks, and expects to double capacity again.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is invoking his authority under the Defense Production Act to direct the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to obtain N95 masks from Minnesota-based 3M Company.
According to a Presidential memorandum released by the White House Press Secretary, “The Secretary (of Homeland Security), through the Administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Administrator), shall use any and all authority available under the Act to acquire, from any appropriate subsidiary or affiliate of 3M Company, the number of N-95 respirators that the Administrator determines to be appropriate.”
“We just signed a(n) element of the act against 3M,” President Trump said in his daily coronavirus news conference on Thursday afternoon. “Hopefully they will be able to do what they are supposed to do.”
3M has not yet commented publicly on the President’s order.
According to text of the act as published on the FEMA website, the Defense Production Act gives the President of the United States the authority to control distribution of certain items when “the requirements of the national defense for such material cannot otherwise be met without creating a significant dislocation of the normal distribution of such material in the civilian market to such a degree as to create appreciable hardship.”
3M Chairman and CEO Mike Roman previously outlined the company’s plan to ramp up production of its N95 respirators.
“We’ve already put into motion additional investments and actions that will enable us to double our capacity once again, to 2 billion globally within the next 12 months – and some of that additional capacity will begin to come online in the next 60-90 days. In the United States, we expect to be producing N95 respirators at a rate of 50 million per month in June, a 40 percent increase from current levels,” Roman said in a 3M blog post published on Tuesday.
N95 respirators are widely considered to be among the most important personal protective equipment for medical professionals during the coronavirus pandemic, as the virus primarily spreads through respiratory droplets.
The FDA says “The ‘N95’ designation means that when subjected to careful testing, the respirator blocks at least 95 percent of very small (0.3 micron) test particles. If properly fitted, the filtration capabilities of N95 respirators exceed those of face masks. However, even a properly fitted N95 respirator does not completely eliminate the risk of illness or death.”
Additionally, President Trump on Thursday also invoked the Defense Production Act to “facilitate the supply of materials” to six companies that manufacture ventilators, including Medtronic.
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