Supply Chain

The FDA granted emergency use authorization April 30 to a ventilator designed by NASA that is tailored specifically to COVID-19 patients. 

The federal government will send two-week supplies of personal protective equipment to more than 15,000 nursing homes across the country, The Hill reported. 

LabCorp, one of the private labs that have conducted a significant amount of COVID-19 testing during the pandemic, said it is furloughing employees in response to a lack of routine testing business, the Times-News reported. 

Private labs have conducted more than 85 percent of all COVID-19 tests in the U.S., but those tests haven't offset the financial losses some labs are facing due to a lack of routine testing. 

Ten hospitals and health systems posted job listings for supply chain expertise in the last week:

St. Louis-based BJC HealthCare system developed a process to disinfect N95 respirator masks and return them to their original users for reuse for up to three weeks, an article published in the Journal of the American College of Surgeons shows.

Senate Democrats introduced a bill April 29 that would federalize the medical supply chain to increase production of supplies needed to combat COVID-19, The Hill reported. 

Testing for COVID-19 remains one of the biggest obstacles in reopening the U.S. economy and returning to a pre-COVID life. 

LabCorp is now offering free COVID-19 antibody tests for anyone with an order from a healthcare provider. 

Quest Diagnostics is now offering a COVID-19 antibody test without need for a physician's appointment, CNBC reported.