The country’s largest nursing union demonstrated outside the White House to advocate for more personal protective equipment.
Members of the National Nurses Union stood 6 feet apart in Lafayette Square on Tuesday while holding photos of registered nurses who have died during the coronavirus pandemic. The union said in a statement that it was bringing “attention to the tens of thousands of healthcare workers nationwide who have become infected with COVID-19 due to lack of personal protective equipment.”
“Let us remember and honor the ultimate sacrifice these nurses paid,” said union member Melody Jones, according to the Washington Post. “We commit ourselves to fight like hell for the living.”
Those in attendance said the goal of the protest was to get President Trump’s attention and to emphasize the lack of medical supplies available to help nurses stay healthy while they treat those infected with COVID-19. The union is also urging Trump to invoke the Defense Production Act to compel companies to produce more personal protective equipment, including face shields, N95 face masks, and gloves.
“The U.S. Health and Human Services Department estimates the country will need 3.5 billion N95 respirators to be used throughout the pandemic,” it said in a press release about the demonstration. “NNU is calling on Congress to mandate the DPA’s use to produce the equipment and supplies healthcare workers need to care for COVID-19 patients as well as to conduct mass testing that is required to control the spread of the virus.”
The Washington Examiner reached out to the National Nurses Union for this story.
