Health workers are still being forced to ration protective masks, but small American manufacturers cannot find buyers, and some manufacturers are in danger of closing down.

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One year after the pandemic, disposable, virus-filtering N95 masks are still coveted protective equipment. The continuing shortage has forced doctors and nurses to reuse their N95, and ordinary Americans have searched the Internet-mostly in vain-to obtain them.

But Luis Arguello Jr. has a large number of N95s for sale-in fact, 30 million of them are produced in the Miami factory of his family business DemeTech. He couldn't find a buyer at all.

After the epidemic exposed a huge demand for protective equipment and China closed its stocks to the world, medical suture manufacturer DemeTech dived into the cover business. The company invested tens of millions of dollars in the new machine, and then passed a nine-month federal approval process to allow the mask to be marketed.

But demand is so weak that Mr. Aguero is preparing to fire some of the 1,300 workers he hired to increase production.

He said: "We can't get these masks into the hands of people who desperately need them. It's crazy."

One of the more perplexing disconnects between the laws of supply and demand is that many of the nearly two dozen small American companies that have recently stepped into the N95 business are facing an abyss-unable to open the market, even though the former president swears by Donald Tron President Po and Biden will "buy American products" and promote the production of domestic basic medical equipment.

These companies must overcome the deep-rooted purchasing habits of the hospital system, medical supply distributors, and state governments. Many buyers are reluctant to try a new batch of masks made in the United States, which are usually a bit more expensive than masks made in China. Another obstacle comes from companies such as Facebook and Google, which ban the sale and promotion of N95 masks to prevent profiteers from diverting important medical equipment needed by frontline medical staff.

Public health experts and industry executives say what is needed is an ambitious strategy that includes federal loans, subsidies, and government procurement directives to ensure the long-term viability of domestic industries that are vital to national interests.

“The government needs to call the outsourcing of the supply of masks in the United States a national security issue,” said Mike Bowen, owner of Texas mask manufacturer Prestige Ameritech, who has testified before Congress that he needs to support domestic manufacturers .

Based on his experience during the 2009 swine flu pandemic, he said that without systemic changes, many start-ups are unlikely to survive. "We have seen this movie before," said Mr. Bowen, who has 35 years of experience in the industry. "If the pandemic ends, it will be a terrible blood bath."

Partly promoted by the National Defense Production Act during the war, domestic giants such as 3M and Honeywell have increased the production of N95 masks in the past year. However, the 120 million masks they produce in the United States each month cannot meet the needs of the health department. Demand. 3.5 billion N95. Most of the masks produced by large companies go to medical distributors that supply the country's large hospital system.

Smaller companies can help fill this gap. The 19 companies that have recently obtained federal certification collectively produce tens of millions of masks per month; the large chain hospital Northwell Health uses a total of 300,000 masks in its 23 hospitals every month.

These companies include Protective Health Gear, a New Jersey start-up founded by chiropractors and store display directors that has been struggling to find stable customers, and ALG Health, a company that produces 1.5 million masks per month in Blaine, Ohio. Lighting company, but was unable to obtain the final investment needed to achieve its monthly output of 30 million.

Unlike his predecessor, Mr. Biden has made the face mask a key component of his plan to contain the pandemic. In his first act as president, Mr. Biden instructed federal agencies to actively use DPA to promote the manufacture of domestic personal protective equipment, and subsequent executive orders aimed to encourage the government to purchase domestically produced goods. Nonetheless, none of the six start-ups interviewed in this article stated that federal officials have contacted them.

"I am very encouraged by the initial actions of the Biden administration," said Scott Paul, chairman of the American Manufacturing Alliance, an industry group. "But the federal government does need to step up its efforts to provide certainty to American companies that respond to the national call to action, not only for this crisis, but also for the companies of the future."

White House Covid-19 Supply Coordinator Tim Manning (Tim Manning) said that the government will announce some new personal protective equipment DPA contracts in the next few weeks, but larger supply chain issues will take longer to resolve.

Mr. Manning said: “One of our priorities in response to the pandemic is to do so in a certain way so that we can ensure that the expansion of the industrial base that has already occurred can continue so that we don’t fall into the same situation next time​ ​Situation." In an interview.

Companies like American Mask, the Fort Worth, Texas-based startup that started producing N95 in November, may not be able to hold on for long. Commercial real estate agent John Bielamowicz founded the company with his friend David Baillargeon in the first few weeks of the pandemic. He said that chain hospitals, long-term care The lack of interest from institutions and local governments made him frustrated. Volume Purchase.

Although the company’s masks have been certified by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health under the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mr. Biramovic said that many buyers are reluctant to try unfamiliar products. Large hospitals are more willing to insist on using masks they have already used, because testing new models on employees is very time-consuming. But many cost-conscious bulk buyers are more willing to buy cheaper Chinese products.

Tarrant County, where Mr. Biramović’s factory is located, suffered one of the more painful rejections. Last month, the county cancelled his company’s bidding qualifications because officials wanted to buy specific Chinese-made models. County officials did not respond to requests for comment.

"We entered this industry because we are troubled by the U.S.'s dependence on foreign manufacturing and want to do something about it," said Mr. Biramović, whose masks are priced at $2.25 each-more than made in China. The mask is a few cents high. "When we produce N95 at a competitive price, will we die on the vine?"

Because of their hope for Washington's intervention, American masks and other N95 producers have stated that the ability to sell to the public through online retailers such as Amazon will help them sustain their livelihoods.

Dr. Monika Gandhi, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said that the vast majority of Americans who have accepted wearing masks and are worried about new variants will eagerly upgrade to N95 or other types of virus filtering masks if they are available.

"Now, high-filtration masks are more important than ever," she said.

The problem is getting consumers to visit their retail website. At present, anyone who tries to buy N95 masks on Google Shopping or Facebook Marketplace will see a blank page; on Amazon, searching for N95 will find a large number of suppliers peddling KN95 masks. Researchers say this kind of masks made in China is less effective . As of Wednesday, the website seems to allow a small number of masks called N95, but not all masks are listed on the NIOSH website. The other includes a disclaimer stating that masks are not recommended for use against Covid-19.

Google and Facebook said that they have no immediate plans to change the policies, which are based on the guidance of the CDC and the World Health Organization to ensure that medical staff have adequate protective equipment. Amazon did not respond to a request for comment.

Lance Brown, CEO of Rhino Medical Supply, a South Carolina distributor, has been focusing on selling N95 produced by a new generation of American entrepreneurs. He said that their masks are better than most Chinese-made masks, but his demands for national pride often fail to get institutional buyers to pay attention to the bottom line.

Mr. Brown has also been pushing online retailers to reconsider a comprehensive ban on N95 masks. He said that this problem can be easily solved by creating an exception for government-certified masks.

"How can you spread conspiracy theories on Facebook, but we can't sell N95 masks to the millions of Americans who need them now?" Mr. Brown asked. "I can understand that Facebook does not want to sell masks made by someone in his garage, but these masks comply with strict NIOSH guidelines."

Mr. Biramovich first discovered the benefit of a little public exposure. Last month, when he and his partner considered denying losing, the local newspaper columnist wrote about their suffering. The company was immediately overwhelmed by orders from school nurses, cancer patients and basic staff, many of whom said they had given up looking for N95 masks.

Within three days, the company sold out its inventory of 250,000 masks.