CABS Health Network in Brooklyn, NY received face shields and gloves from Get Us PPE and the UAE The United Arab Emirates and Get Us PPE successfully delivered over 275,000 pieces of PPE to over 100 facilities across the United States. It was a donation that took months of coordination at the highest levels. However, at the core of this donation was a simple gesture of goodwill, a team of dedicated volunteers, and a resilient spirit.  This effort started in April 2021 when the UAE reached out to Get Us PPE with an interest in donating PPE to US facilities in need. The partnership took o ..read more

Get Us PPE partners with Evolved By Nature to get sustainable hand sanitizer to underserved and under-resourced communities. The Massachusetts-based company is in the business of advancing the world’s health by reducing our reliance on petrochemicals. To that end, they’ve developed an extensive offering of personal care products using chemicals derived from silk cocoons. In partnership with Get Us PPE, they’ve donated sustainable, non-toxic hand sanitizers that are reaching many underserved and under-resourced communities.  Creating Sustainable Hand Sanitizer  At its core, Evolved B ..read more

Over the course of the pandemic, the marketplace for vetted, medical-grade PPE has been very difficult to navigate, particularly for small and underserved communities with smaller procurement budgets. Counterfeit PPE and price gouging have been rife as demand surged past need, so much so that the Department of Justice announced the formation of a COVID-19 Fraud Task Force in May 2021. While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maintains a website that lists manufacturers who produce FDA- and NIOSH-approved N95s, for the public good, an expanded and frequently updated, user-friendly ..read more

While it is recommended for unvaccinated individuals to wear masks to protect one’s mouth, nose, and throat from getting infected with the coronavirus, health care professionals who work in medium to high exposure settings are also recommended to wear eye protection, such as face shields and safety goggles to limit eye exposure to air-borne respiratory droplets. This recommendation, suggested by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and seconded by medical expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, is aimed at health care professionals with a higher risk of exposure to COVID-19, to provide them ..read more

The holiday-timed PPE donation that almost wasn’t, if it weren’t for the resourcefulness and tenacity of Get Us PPE’s incredible staff and volunteers, and the generosity from an unlikely partner.  At its inception, when Get Us PPE was simply a stopgap to help address the rapid shock to the PPE supply chain, its main challenge was locating PPE donors in a scarce environment. However, as the pandemic wore on, demand-side PPE shortages became increasingly driven by logistical and operational inefficiencies. PPE suppliers who rallied to meet shortages were met with fragmented demand, yet sma ..read more

Despite the availability of vaccines, we should continue masking to prevent the spread of COVID-19 until more people are vaccinated. In this article, Get Us PPE looks at different masking options and when each option is appropriate.  Editor’s note:  After the time of publishing, the CDC updated their recommendations for fully vaccinated individuals, and additionally posted updated recommendations for all individuals. ___ In January 2021, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued an order for required masking on all public transport systems and in major transportation hubs, but mas ..read more

A look at the mother-daughter team that helped distribute over 160,000 masks for the Greater San Diego Area.  This past winter, at the height of the third wave of COVID-19 infections in the U.S., Get Us PPE partnered with the Chicano Federation to distribute KN95s and 3-ply masks for the Greater San Diego area. The experience was cathartic, giving Get Us PPE Equity Team volunteers an opportunity to participate in the distribution process by contacting recipients and determining the planned PPE allocation. Moreso, it gave Joanna Calderón, Get Us PPE’s Deputy Director for Health Equity, a c ..read more

As part of Volunteer Appreciation Month, Get Us PPE is profiling some of our amazing volunteers that have given their time to aid our mission of getting PPE to those who need it most. Below are some of Get Us PPE’s volunteers working in the Communications and Development team. These are the folks putting together our social media content, designing beautiful graphics that accompany our data and translating that data into nuggets of information that others can easily digest. These folks are indispensable in telling our story!  This is part two of a series highlighting our volunteers. Click ..read more

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! At Get Us PPE we want to profile some of our amazing volunteers who have offered their time to advance our mission. Get Us PPE’s volunteers come from all walks of life – high school students, college students, professionals, and more! Below are some of Get Us PPE’s volunteers working in the day-to-day operations, matching donated PPE to facilities in need, and reaching out to healthcare workers to collect data on PPE needs. Without them, Get Us PPE could not have delivered over 12 million pieces of PPE. Trenton Reinicke Trenton Reinicke tirelessly works ..read more

N95 masks continue to be in short supply for hospitals and other healthcare professionals despite an excess supply. Meanwhile, PPE sold on WhatsApp, a popular messaging app, has allowed sellers to gouge prices despite a federal crackdown on the practice.  The Big Picture  An update on the number of cases and deaths from the coronavirus: As of Monday, April 5th, the United States has over 30 million cases and 554,000 deaths. As seen over the past few weeks, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Rhode Island have the highest case rates (cases per 100,000 people); California, Texas, and Flori ..read more