Most of the world’s protective face masks are made in China and Taiwan, and even for those made elsewhere, some component parts are Chinese-sourced. Shortages have led China to declare the masks a “strategic resource,” reserving them for their own medical workers, leaving the U.S. and the rest of the world to operate with a very limited supply of protective masks. In January, Taiwan banned the export of masks, which left them with ample supply but exacerbated the worldwide shortage of masks.
The usage per medical provider of protective masks has gone up by as much a ten times normal usage, this coupled with the reduction of imported masks explains why the current shortage is so critical.
The leftist propaganda media in the U.S. is doing their best to paint the supply shortage of masks as a lack of leadership by President Trump, or somehow not a priority of the administration, while never, ever explaining the reason for the shortage. This hegemonic leftist narrative is not just misleading, it is a deliberate ongoing misinformation campaign and a direct political contribution to whomever the Democrat nominee will be.
