South Texas Congressmen Urge FEMA Administrator Gaynor, CDC Director Redfield and HHS Secretary Azar to Equip Texas Hospitals with Lifesaving Medical Supplies

WASHINGTON – On Sunday, Congressmen Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Filemon Vela (TX-34), and Henry Cuellar (TX-28) sent a letter urging Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Peter Gaynor, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Robert Redfield, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar, and Assistant Secretary Robert Kadlec requesting adequate medical supplies for state and local health departments, and coordinating labs in the form of testing kits, reagents and personal protective equipment (PPE).

The distribution of testing kits and reagents to states and hospitals remains low, forcing health professionals to ration the testing kits and supplies they have.

"Our frontline medical professionals and constituents are depending on this equipment," said Congressman Gonzalez. "South Texas needs testing kits, reagents, and personal protective equipment and we need them now."

"This global pandemic has created an unprecedented demand on necessary resources to fight the virus, including diagnostic testing tools and the reagents needed for those samples," said Congressman Vela. " Moreover, while our Texas health care workforce do all they can to treat impacted patients and save lives, they, too, are now facing shortages of the equipment needed to protect them. We must ensure the safety of all Texans by doing all we can to have the diagnostic tests needed to identify those with the virus, and provide our life-saving health care workers with the protective equipment they need to do their jobs as safely as possible. Only then will we be able to stop the spread of this deadly virus."

"The health and safety of my constituents remains my number one priority," said Congressman Cuellar. "It is critical that more testing kits and reagents become a reality in South Texas in order to contain a potentially damaging outbreak in our communities. Congressmen Gonzalez, Vela, Cloud and I will continue to work to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19 virus and protect our friends, neighbors, and families in South Texas. As a senior Appropriator, I am committed to fighting for the necessary resources so South Texas can remain safe and healthy."

Signers of the letter include: Congressman Vicente Gonzalez (TX-15), Congressman Filemon Vela (TX-34), Congressman Henry Cuellar (TX-28)

Read the letter here or below:

March 22, 2020

Pete T. Gaynor
Administrator

Federal Emergency Management Agency

500 C Street SW
Washington, D.C. 20472

Robert R. Redfield, M.D.

Director

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

1600 Clifton Road

Atlanta, GA 30333

The Honorable Alex M. Azar II

Secretary

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

200 Independence Avenue, SW

Washington, D.C. 20201

Robert Kadlec, M.D.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response

200 Independence Avenue, SW

Room 638G

Washington, D.C. 20201

Dear Administrator Gaynor, Dr. Redfield, Secretary Azar, and Assistant Secretary Kadlec,

With more than 300 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Texas and over 31,000 in the United States, equipping our states, private and public health labs, and health care professionals with all necessary medical supplies is of utmost importance. We write you today urging you to do all you can to provide our state and local health departments and coordinating labs with testing kits and reagents as well as personal protective equipment (PPE).

As you know, on February 4, 2020, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) provided Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to use the RT-polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) test to detect the virus in upper and lower respiratory specimens. It is evident that in order to flatten the curve and lessen the adverse effects of this pandemic, widely available testing and social distancing are imperative.

Yet testing has been severely limited throughout the United States and especially in the state of Texas, forcing clinicians to make difficult decisions about how to ration tests. Not only is this an unacceptable position to put our frontline health care workers, it also depreciates the reliability of the number of cases reported. In addition, those same medical workers are confronting a critical shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE), including masks, surgical gowns and eye gear to adequately protect them from the virus. This shortage has forced health centers to shut down, limiting the number of providers at a time when we most need them.

As the number of confirmed cases continues to grow, it is of paramount importance that you do everything in your power to ensure that health care professionals in the state of Texas are appropriately protected and that testing kits and reagents are readily available throughout the country, including the Lone Star State which has a population of more than 28 million people. We ask that you please pay close and immediate attention to this letter and let us know what we can do together to lessen the loss of life given this unfortunate world-wide pandemic. Should you need anything more from us, we remain at your disposition.

Sincerely,

Vicente Gonzalez

Member of Congress

Filemon Vela

Member of Congress

Henry Cuellar

Member of Congress