[pip08456]

Originally Posted by jonbxx

Acquisition of PPE is a public health issue and so does not normally fall under the EUs umbrella as public health is a national issue, not an EU wide one so the European Commission has started from scratch on this one.

So why did countries ask/allow the EU to take on PPE procurement? I am guessing cost is a big issue. If 27 countries (or 28 if someone checks their email) plus a few other countries are all bidding for a limited supply of PPE, a bidding war will start which doesn't help anyone but most impacts the less well off countries which have been hit hard by the virus.

Do you think there isn't already a bidding war for PPE.

"Where we are now, 50 states all trying to buy the same equipment from China, and then the federal government comes in with (the Federal Emergency Management Agency), which is trying to purchase the same equipment," Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York, a Democrat, said on April 2 during an appearance on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show."

"I bought 17,000 ventilators – ordered 17,000 ventilators from China – but I think what's happening is when somebody else outbids you, your order just is gone. I haven't even received 1,000."

Source