That anyone would even suggest that the request of hospitals for increased numbers of masks might be because of employee theft and that masks are going out the back door is despicable. These medical workers are needing many multiples of the usual number of masks because they are wearing them all the time, for every encounter, and seeing many many more patients with airborne illness.
Am I shocked that a hospital that usually used 20,000 masks now needs 300,000? No, I am shocked that anyone would even think that such an increase represents anything other than the seriousness of Covid and the effort of institutions to do their best to protect workers. If a few masks are being diverted that is sad, but it is not the reason we have a shortage and the media shouldn't be told to focus on theft as that clearly is not the reason for the critical inadequacy of masks.
Health care workers, thank you. You deserve all the masks you need, not the sneering accusation that you are thieves.
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Men plug the dikes of their most needed beliefs with whatever mud they can find. - Clifford Geertz
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