American companies band together in the war against the Coronavirus
“We will have a great victory. We have no other choice,” said President Trump at Monday’s Coronavirus Task Force press briefing. “Every one of us has a role to play in winning this war. This is our shared patriotic duty.”
Though the president’s Slow the Spread program has been extended another 30 days, it appears that good news is on the horizon for America. Coronavirus testing has significantly increased, and as of Monday, over one million Americans have now been tested for the virus — “more than any other country by far.”
Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services, says that the U.S. is now testing nearly 100,000 samples a day.
This testing has expanded to include the authorization of point of care testing. Dr. Stephen Hahn, FDA Commissioner, explains that a point of care test “gives you a result where you’re getting care,” whether that be at your doctor’s office, the hospital, ER, test care site, etc. and you can get an answer within 15 minutes of having this test done. These are available around the country.
Though point of care tests typically take nine – 12 months to develop, the Coronavirus tests were created within weeks in collaboration with the FDA and the U.S. government.
The FDA has also authorized N95 respirator masks sterilization kits, which will help to fill in the gap while American companies continue to manufacture and distribute masks.
Each machine can disinfect 120,000 masks per day, and each mask can go through this process 20 times. Currently, there are two kits in Ohio and one in New York, with one on its way to Seattle and another on the way to D.C.
To keep spirits high, Trump invited five CEOs to speak at Monday’s briefing. Each of these CEOs is directing their companies to help in the fight against the Coronavirus. Here’s what they are contributing:
Mike Lindell, MyPillow CEO: MyPillow established an internal task force which is monitoring the needs of companies across the country, and has designated some of its call centers to help these companies devise a plan for success and navigate the issues that have come with a global pandemic.
MyPillow has also designated 75% of manufacturing to produce cotton face masks.
Darius Adamczyk, CEO of Honeywell: Honeywell is creating a new manufacturing facility in Rhode Island, which will be hiring 500 employees in the next two weeks to begin the production of N95 masks. In the coming weeks, Honeywell will create a second manufacturing facility and hire an additional 500 employees to work there and produce masks.
Debra Waller, CEO of Jockey International: Jockey international will be providing support for health care workers by beginning production on tier 3 isolation gowns. Jockey is prepared to distribute 30,000 – 50,000 gowns per week to those who need it most. Jockey International will also be donating 10,000 units of scrubs to the doctors and nurses at Javits Center hospital in New York.
David Taylor, CEO of Procter & Gamble: In addition to making, packing and shipping everyday cleaning products, PNG has transformed plants to create hand sanitizer and face masks for health care workers and its larger customer base.
Gregory Hayes, CEO of United Technologies: United technologies is working with the airforce to help pilots who are moving medical evacuees to keep pilots and patients safe. United Technologies donated 90,000 pieces of PPE to FEMA and will begin the manufacturing of face shields. The company expects to produce 10,000 shields within the next four weeks.
Though times are undeniably hard, the U.S. government and large portions of the private industry are coming together to win in the war against the Coronavirus.
