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Let's look at a standard N95 mask to understand why the U.S. is so dependent on overseas suppliers for personal protective equipment (PPE). It has several individual components: filter, shell, coverweb, nose clip, nose foam, and straps. Each of those requires raw materials, chiefly polyester, polypropylene, and aluminum.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has crippled the airline industry. Passenger numbers are down more than two-thirds from last year, and airlines have been canceling flights and shutting down routes. It’s frustrating for travelers, but for patients on organ transplant waitlists, the loss of flights can put a life-saving kidney or heart out of reach.

A coronavirus vaccine looms on the horizon as politicians and school boards are allowing more students return to full classrooms. The confluence of these two events presents a question: Should the state require COVID-19 vaccines for school-age children?

On the day that a COVID-19 vaccine is approved, a vast logistics operation will need to awaken. Millions of doses must travel hundreds of miles from manufacturers to hospitals, doctor’s offices, and pharmacies, which in turn must store, track, and eventually get the vaccines to people all across the country. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with state and local health departments, coordinates this process. These agencies distributed flu vaccines during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic this way, and they manage childhood vaccines every day. But the COVID-19 vaccine will be a whole new challenge.