American Mask Manufacturer Claims "Losing Every Single Bid To Chinese Companies" For U.S. Government Contracts

In less than a month, we will hit the one-year mark for the infamous “15 days to slow the spread” campaign brought by the U.S. government. It was created to bring awareness of Covid-19 and the government’s request that Americans shelter in their homes to help ease the burden on hospitals and personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturers.

When the U.S. hospital system called out desperately for more PPE, Chinese manufacturers closed their doors. Whatever product China did release for purchasing came with a disgustingly inflated price. Americans stood in the gap, creating nearly 30 small businesses to fill the need for N95 masks.

Or so one would think.

Paul Hickey says he has millions of ‘Made in America’ N95s for sale through his high-quality Utah mask company, PuraVita Medical, but they have a tough time winning U.S. contracts. Hickey says it’s foreign companies, not other U.S. companies taking those coveted government contracts, which he says likely means that “U.S. mask manufacturers will all be out of business and [Americans] will be even more dependent on China 12 months from now than before the pandemic.”

KSLTV interviewed Paul Hickey concerning the “tough time” his company was having now that he has to compete against foreign manufacturers that provide a lesser quality product at a lower price.

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Hickey said that he believes that people “resonated” with the idea that PuraVita was “started to save lives, restore jobs, and to become PPE independent of foreign countries.” He said it’s important that people understand that “our own government and hospitals keep ordering from Chinese companies to save a penny or two.”

He claims that just last week, the CDC announced “that over 60% of the Chinese products they just tested did not meet the specs on the box. The FDA, CDC, and NIOSH have all announced multiple times that a huge amount of the Chinese masks are fakes, counterfeits, and frauds.”

Hickey told KSLTV that he and a friend started the company to “be good Americans. Be good Patriots.” After watching the devastating effects on our country’s healthcare system, they jumped in to “help” the United States “become independent of the things we need to be independent of,” which included the much-needed N95 mask.

“We started submitting bids to the U.S. government, the state governments, the hospitals, and we are losing every single bid to Chinese companies. Every single one,” said Hickey. He called the process “frustrating” and said that “our own government is working against us to become more independent for our PPE needs.”

Hickey urges hospital staff to stand up and say, “I’m not wearing this mask unless it’s tested.” With foreign countries, especially China, controlling direct-to-consumer online marketplaces like Amazon and eBay, American-based mask manufacturers are left with few options. And our frontline workers are left wondering if the mask they rely on to keep them safe meets the Federal safety requirements.

Unfortunately for Hickey, he has Mitt Romney as a Senator. Romney is a well-known China sympathizer. While running for President against Obama in 2012, it was reported that Romney’s investing firm, Bain Capital, was heavily invested in Chinese companies, including the technology companies responsible for recording every movement of Chinese nationals.

Or it could simply be due to the fact that Romney is too focused on allowing President Trump to live rent-free in his head than call on the federal government to prioritize American businesses over Chinese manufacturers.

Regardless, the federal government, at the very least, should be actively promoting American businesses. It should be easier for PureVita to sell their N95 masks in America than Beijing Ruishan Bozhong Medical Instrument Co., Ltd. “American products are great. People around the world want ‘Made in America’ products.” – Paul Hickey

Twitter: @marmee_r and Parler: @marmee