March 31, 2020

Mr. Scott Whitaker

President and Chief Executive Officer
Advanced Medical Technology Association
701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Suite 800
Washington, DC 20004

Dear Mr. Whitaker:

I write today to request information about the Advanced Medical Technology Association
(AdvaMed) member companies’ efforts to rapidly and dramatically increase production of
personal protective equipment (PPE) and other supplies that are critical to our nation’s COVID-
19 response efforts.

As our nation continues to mobilize to respond to COVID-19, America’s health care workforce
is on the front lines now, triaging patients, administering tests, and caring for those hit hardest by
the disease. But due to a nationwide shortage of PPE, this workforce does not have the basic
supplies they need to keep themselves and others safe, including masks, gowns, gloves, and face
shields. Many have had to resort to measures that seemed unbelievable even a month ago, such
as reusing, rationing, and making supplies themselves. The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention has even issued guidance that health care workers may need to resort to using
bandanas and scarves should they run out of facemasks.1 The shortage of PPE is a nationwide
crisis, and it is not limited to hospitals; emergency medical services and first responders
(including police, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians), direct support professionals,
community health centers, outpatient clinics, nursing homes, and many others have made
desperate pleas for PPE as well.

We are also facing a critical shortage of other essential supplies and devices, such as ventilators.
Health care officials throughout the country are issuing dire warnings that there will not be
enough ventilator machines for every patient who may need one as the number of COVID-19
cases increases. The state of New Jersey has a particularly acute need for PPE and other
supplies; as of March 23rd, New Jersey had the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases in the
country. As the most densely-populated state in the nation with close proximity to several major
metropolitan areas, the number of COVID-19 cases, including those that require intensive care,
are likely to increase at a level experienced by few other states.

We must work rapidly to increase our nation’s supply of PPE and other necessary equipment,
and many of AdvaMed’s member companies are critical to this effort. To aid in my
understanding of and potential policy-making to address this issue, I request answers to the
following questions and information requests no later than April 7, 2020.

1Strategies for Optimizing the Supply of Facemasks. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 17 Mar. 2020,
www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/hcp/ppe-strategy/face-masks.html.
 1. How many U.S. manufacturers produce various types of PPE, including N95 masks, face
shields, gowns, and gloves? Please provide a list of each of these manufacturers, the type
of PPE they produce, and how much of each product they produced and sold last year.
Please also include how much of each product was manufactured in the U.S., how much
was manufactured outside the U.S. and how much was sold in the U.S.

2. How many U.S. manufacturers produce ventilators, and how many ventilators did they
produce last year? Please provide a list of each of these manufacturers and a breakdown
of how many how many of the ventilators produced were made in the U.S. and sold in the
U.S.

3. To the best of your knowledge, how much of each type of PPE does our nation need
currently and throughout the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic? In your estimate,
please include the needs of professionals who do not work in hospitals but still need PPE,
such as first responders.

4. To the best of your knowledge, how many ventilators does our nation need currently and
throughout the remainder of the COVID-19 pandemic?

5. What are U.S. manufacturers doing to meet our nation’s current and future needs for PPE
and other supplies, such as ventilators?

6. Will U.S. manufacturers alone be able to meet our nation’s needs for PPE and other
supplies? If so, please provide your best estimate of when this need will be met given
supply and demand projections and your knowledge of the pace of production at these
companies. If not, please provide recommendations for the Administration, Congress,
states, health care systems and others on securing all of the supplies needed to respond to
COVID-19.

7. Other than export controls, do U.S. manufacturers of PPE and ventilators face regulatory
restrictions or other host government-imposed restrictions in shipping their products to
the U.S.?

8. What, if any, resources and direction do U.S. manufacturers need from Congress or the
Administration to rapidly and dramatically increase production and distribution of PPE
and other supplies?

Thank you for your prompt attention to this request. I look forward to working with you to
ensure that health care workers and others get the PPE and supplies they need.

Sincerely,

Cory A. Booker
United States Senator