Within the month of December, both Pfizer-BioNTech’s and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines have been approved and distributed throughout the United States. However, less than one month since the initial distribution of the vaccine, just over 11 million people have been vaccinated with at least one of the two required doses, according to the CDC. This total is significantly lower than the predicted 20 million people hoped to be vaccinated at the end of 2020 by US government officials.
The December Get Us PPE Shortage Index breaks down why the United States is still experiencing a critical PPE shortage with the rollout of the vaccine, the needs for PPE in community facilities, and the highest PPE requests by state.
The Get Us PPE Shortage Index is the largest non-government source of data about the needs for personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks and gloves, in the U.S., based on PPE requests received by our organization. Each month, we’ll share key takeaways from our findings and how you can help get PPE to those most in need.
December 2020 Get Us PPE Shortage Index Findings
Key Takeaways from the December Get Us PPE Shortage Index:
- Requests for PPE rose 260% between November and December.
- Of facilities reporting needs in the month of December, 63% of facilities had no supply remaining of at least one type of PPE.
- Of the PPE requests received in the month of December, 99+% came from non-hospital facilities, such as nursing homes and clinics, highlighting the growing PPE needs of our community facilities nationwide.
- Requests for nitrile gloves doubled between November and December, reflecting the increasingly severe glove shortage
- Get Us PPE has developed a groundbreaking algorithm that helps us determine where to send scarce PPE, optimizing for both efficiency and health equity.
Get Us PPE has donated more than 6.5 million units of PPE to frontline facilities and healthcare workers. But the demand still far outweighs the demand. Over 78 million units of PPE have been requested to fulfill just one week’s worth of need.
Take a look at the full December Get Us PPE Shortage Index
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