ABSTRACT
The outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020 caused the demand for foam-tipped swabs, required for COVID-19 testing, to skyrocket. There were only two major manufacturers of foam-tipped swabs worldwide. The only US producer of COVID-19 foam-tipped testing swabs was Puritan of Guilford, Maine with a capacity of < 10M swabs per month. Puritan's existing capacity was nowhere near the 10's of millions needed. The U.S. Government utilized the provisions enacted under the Defense Production Act to award a $73M agreement to Puritan on 23 April 2020 to expand capacity to produce an additional 20M foam-tipped swabs per month. Puritan was faced with daunting supply-chain and workforce challenges to increase their production capability within the 90 day deadline during a pandemic. In spite of the challenges, Puritan met the objectives set by the agreement and delivered the additional capacity on time. © 2022 MANTECH 2022. All rights reserved.
ABSTRACT
While thecovid -19 pandemic has been devastating and disrupting the normal life of people across the globe, veterinarians have crucial obligations, opportunities, and contributions to make the country self-reliant, self-sufficient and self-sustaining. They accomplish this by enhancing the health and wellbeing of animals, environment and community. They also aid in detecting and responding to zoonotic diseases, maintaining food security and water quality, and promoting wildlife and ecosystem health. Failing to seize this moment could definitely undermine public health and global security for generations. Despite the fact that the strategic modifications of the veterinary education system, client dealing as well as the trade and investment regulations implemented in the aftermath of the covid-19 pandemic has an immense prospective for progress, there are several pitfalls in this system. This must be addressed in order to face the challenge, accept the future and relinquish the opportunities to create a more sustainable profession.