D&D and the rising pandemic

[Hussar]

And security systems capable of fending off both anti-vaxxer nutcases and "me first" queue jumpers?

Well, in Canada, we're using the armed forces to handle security. They actually called up the army for this. :wow: In Canada?!?! Good grief.

 

[Umbran]

OTOH, I remember Ford and GM converting unused production lines to make ventilators inside of a month.

That was good.

Vera Bradley and hundreds of at-home seamstresses making masks - enough to cover dire need.

These were good for normal folks at home who needed masks to go to the grocery. They weren't suitable for medical personnel who needed PPE.

 

[Ryujin]

I seem to recall a mad scramble for PPE, states competing against one another (which disadvantages smaller, poorer states, natch), and skyrocketing prices.

In addition, half a million masks that were destined for Canada, were embargoed at the US border. That was half of the shipment. The other half were released.

There's currently a very good documentary showing on Prime: "Totally Under Control." It follows the pandemic from December 2019, though to the early Fall of 2020.

 

[Garthanos]

The glass is half empty?
OTOH, I remember Ford and GM converting unused production lines to make ventilators inside of a month. Vera Bradley and hundreds of at-home seamstresses making masks - enough to cover dire need. And recognition that outsourcing was not such an awesome policy after all, because no supply and no flexibility.

Yes people try... but leadership (or lack thereof) and proper organization and management can be and have obviously been of dramatic impact as has how consistent you try to follow scientific guidelines even as those developed and improved.

 

[ccs]

These were good for normal folks at home who needed masks to go to the grocery. They weren't suitable for medical personnel who needed PPE.

Well hopefully it helped relieve some of the scramble for true PPE. If we all don't need N95 grade masks just to go to the grocery store....

 

[Deset Gled]

The glass is half empty?
OTOH, I remember Ford and GM converting unused production lines to make ventilators inside of a month. Vera Bradley and hundreds of at-home seamstresses making masks - enough to cover dire need. And recognition that outsourcing was not such an awesome policy after all, because no supply and no flexibility.

While I'm not an expert, I'm pretty sure the problem is that manufacturing the -70 freezers is more akin to the N95 mask manufacturing problem than the ventilator problem.

Even normal fridges require special chemicals and a vacuum process to manufacture. I'm pretty sure a -70 system is exponentially more complicated and has a lot more safety issues. If you can't get the right chemicals, if you aren't properly set up to handle the toxicity or environmental issues, or if you don't have the right tech to deal with the vacuum process, it may not be a simple matter of converting production lines. That's where a lot of the talk about Dipping Dots comes it; they're one of the few companies with the right production base to even consider repurposing.

 

[Istbor]

While I'm not an expert, I'm pretty sure the problem is that manufacturing the -70 freezers is more akin to the N95 mask manufacturing problem than the ventilator problem.

Even normal fridges require special chemicals and a vacuum process to manufacture. I'm pretty sure a -70 system is exponentially more complicated and has a lot more safety issues. If you can't get the right chemicals, if you aren't properly set up to handle the toxicity or environmental issues, or if you don't have the right tech to deal with the vacuum process, it may not be a simple matter of converting production lines. That's where a lot of the talk about Dipping Dots comes it; they're one of the few companies with the right production base to even consider repurposing.

Not to mention that some of this will likely require certifications. While not impossible, those can take time. Especially depending on the use and laws surrounding the handling of the product. Maybe you could whip up a production facility in a month, but if there are strict certifications involved with the product, and the environment in which the product is made, you can hit time sinks.

This is only coming from some of me experience from biochemical manufacturing, as they sometimes call for freezers this cold. All of that space and tech has to be certified, and we only use the freezers, not make them.

 

[Garthanos]

I have used n95 I find them actually easier to use properly than the other lesser ones (they fit nicely and actually seem to breath well), also they tend to remain in good shape longer

 

[NotAYakk]

Well, in Canada, we're using the armed forces to handle security. They actually called up the army for this. :wow: In Canada?!?! Good grief.

Modern western militaries are mainly logistics engines.

They are also subject-matter experts on killing things and blowing things up. But there isn't much call for that in Canada nowadays. For Canada's military to do things, it needs to do things on the far end of the world along ridiculous length supply chains.

They need to be able to build bases, move goods, organize people, and execute operations on a large scale. They need to move supplies of varying danger, fragility, etc.

There isn't much call for expertise in massive logistical operations being performed "out of thin air" on short schedules outside of the military.

This is why using the military for tsunami relief and the like is also useful.

 

[Umbran]

While I'm not an expert, I'm pretty sure the problem is that manufacturing the -70 freezers is more akin to the N95 mask manufacturing problem than the ventilator problem.

It is not my understanding that the major issue of the moment is "there is no freezer to put vaccine in when it gets there". If you have information to the contrary, I'd like to see a cite I can refer to.

At the moment, the issue seems to be that there is no plan for distribution. It seems that no cogent listing of "which facility gets which batch of vaccine when" was ever produced.

The Pfizer production facility in Kalamazoo in which the final steps of vaccine production are done is LITERALLY across the street from the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport, btw, so shipping should be fairly easy.

Spoiler: spoiler for tall image