(Un)Protected

May, 2020

At a time when America is relying on health care workers more than ever, we look at why there’s not enough protective gear to keep them safe.

Reveal’s Elizabeth Shogren reports on why the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention relaxed guidelines for protecting health workers during the pandemic and how that’s led to a patchwork of protections for doctors and nurses, who are vulnerable to catching and spreading COVID-19.

Next, we look at the supply chain for personal protective equipment and why it’s been so difficult to ramp up production. Reveal’s Michael Montgomery chronicles one person’s attempt to navigate the system and manufacture N95 masks for doctors and nurses.

“Everard’s important to me becasuse he actually understands the dilema that we’re facing and he’s going through the same things we are.” says Shogren.

Everard is a New York City based consultant who pairs clients with causes they care about. He’s worked with fashion and design, and with the U.N. in New York City and in his native Trinidad and Tobago on sustainable development.

“We want to be ethical. We are selling ethical PPE to people that need it — that’s what we have to do or not do it at all.” says Findlay.

Host Al Letson then speaks with a member of another group on the front lines that’s been affected by the pandemic, funeral director Douglas Hawkins. They talk about how the job has changed and what that’s meant for families saying goodbye to loved ones. We end with the story of a gospel choir that’s figured out a creative way to practice together, despite shelter-in-place orders.

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Everard Findlay