Maine Newspaper Fact Checks Collins: PPE Not Allocated on Per-Capita Basis, Despite Collins’ Claim

Portland Press Herald Analysis Disproves Senator Collins’ False Claim That Trump Administration Sent Maine Masks Based on Population

Collins Defended Trump After Maine Received Just 21% of Masks Requested

A new analysis from the Portland Press Herald reveals that “[p]rotective gear wasn’t allocated to states based on population” despite Senator Susan Collins’ false claim that personal protective equipment (PPE) was “allocated on a per-capita basis” after Maine leaders sounded the alarm that the state was only given 21% of the N95 respirator masks it requested.

The Press Herald’s report found the administration’s largest distribution of PPE to states to be “arbitrary” and the administration “refused to provide an explanation” behind its method. This bombshell revelation comes after Senator Collins challenged the state’s concerns about its request not being met, saying it was “just not the case” that Maine got shortchanged. Asked by the Press Herald if Senator Collins was concerned by this new evidence that refutes her previous claim, a spokesperson “did not answer the questions.”

This is not the first time Senator Collins has justified the Trump administration’s bungled coronavirus response with a defense that’s not grounded in reality. Earlier this month, Collins told the Bangor Daily News that she thought Trump “did a lot that was right in the beginning,” another false claim that has been disproven multiple times over.

“Senator Collins continues to enable President Trump’s lies and exaggerations about his failed response to the coronavirus pandemic, which has left Maine and states across the country starved for resources as they combat this crisis,” said DSCC spokesperson Helen Kalla. “Collins has totally abandoned her ability to be an independent voice for Maine, and she’s made it clear she’s willing to throw her own state under the bus to defend the president.”

Portland Press Herald: Protective gear wasn’t allocated to states based on population, despite administration’s claims

By Colin Woodard

Key Points:

• Amid a nationwide shortage of respirator masks and other personal protective equipment for health care workers and first responders, Maine and other states looked to the federal emergency stockpile for help last month.

• Most received only a tiny fraction of what they requested – 21 percent of the N95 respirator masks in Maine’s case – and were told by federal officials that the stockpile was being allocated based on the population of each state.

• A Portland Press Herald analysis of the Trump administration’s own accounting of N95 allocations shows this was not the case. Maine received less than a third as many of the coveted masks per resident as Vermont or Rhode Island but more than three times that of Texas.

• But the third and far larger distribution this month was made using criteria that have no relationship to the population of each state or even their apparent exposure to the virus. The allocations appear arbitrary, and the Trump administration refused to provide an explanation for how they were made.

• A spokesman for FEMA, Michael Hart, referred questions about this third allocation – which accounted for the vast majority of the N95s distributed – to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ spokesperson Katie McKeogh. She, in turn, referred the questions back to FEMA.

• Maine’s senior senator, Republican Susan Collins, defended the stockpile allocations of N95s in a recent interview with the Bangor Daily News, saying “the masks are generally allocated on a per-capita basis.” Asked if she was concerned that this turns out not to actually have been the case or with the Trump administration’s inability to explain the criteria that was used, her spokesperson, Annie Clark, did not answer the questions, instead providing a written statement documenting efforts Collins has made to secure additional PPE for Maine.

• “The overall status is OK for now, but just OK and just for now,” said Jay Bradshaw, executive director of the Maine Ambulance Association.  I don’t think any service has as much PPE as they would like.”

• After the federal stockpile was exhausted this month, the Maine CDC has been seeking additional sources of N95s, including an order from a private supplier that is expected to be filled later this month. On April 14, FEMA provided 145,000 masks in a shipment unrelated to the stockpile.

• Maine CDC Director Dr. Nirav Shah said Friday that the state’s supply of PPE remains a concern. “I would describe it as OK,” he said. “We need more.”

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