Promised N95 masks for California still aren’t here. Gavin Newsom weighs his options
California still has not received millions of N95 masks it purchased from China-based BYD and is weighing how to proceed after the company missed an extended deadline to secure federal certification for the products, the Newsom administration says.
The company did not secure approval by May 31, as stipulated in the amended contract, said Brian Ferguson, spokesman for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office of Emergency Services. The state has not signed any extension of the deal, although that’s still a possibility, Ferguson said.
“We’re looking at what the options are available to us legally, based on what’s happened,” Ferguson said, adding that there will likely be an update in the next day or two.
Although the N95 masks are still in limbo, the state has purchased and received close to 70 million surgical masks through the deal, Ferguson said.
“It has, in that manner, been highly successful,” Ferguson said of the contract. “It’s been absolutely vital to have that supply.”
Surgical masks are thought to be somewhat effective in reducing transmission of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, but not as effective as N95s.
If the company does win certification of its N95 masks, the state may still purchase the 300 million it initially agreed to buy. If it does not, the state could negotiate another extension, or it could cancel that part of the deal altogether, Ferguson said.
The Democratic governor told MSNBC host Rachel Maddow on April 7 that he had made a deal to secure millions of masks as health care workers scrambled for protective equipment.
California made a nearly $500 million down payment for the N95 masks, half of which BYD refunded after it missed the original deadline laid out in the contract to secure federal certification. The state and the company negotiated a May 31 extension for the company to obtain certification, which is required as part of the contract.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health previously denied certification for the masks because its review of documentation for the “design, manufacturing and quality inspection of the device was concerning,” said Katie Shahan, a spokeswoman for the federal regulator.
The federal institute, known as NIOSH, gave the company a chance to correct the issues it found, Shahan said.
BYD did not immediately return requests for comment for this story. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that a senior BYD executive said the company’s contract with California was being extended beyond May 31.
Ferguson said that has not yet happened.
The contract, which the Newsom administration released last month under pressure from journalists and lawmakers, says that any extensions must be made in writing and agreed to by both BYD and California.
BYD spokesman Frank Girardot previously told The Bee that the masks passed NIOSH’s physical lab tests, and that the issues NIOSH identified to BYD were related to “documentation control paperwork.”
“All are easily fixable,” Girardot wrote in an email to The Bee on May 13. “BYD is in daily contact with NIOSH and will coordinate with the agency to complete the qualification procedure as instructed by NIOSH by the end of May or early June.”
In the meantime, California nurses are still staging protests, saying they need more N95 masks and other gear to protect themselves from catching the coronavirus.
This story was originally published June 2, 2020 at 3:11 PM with the headline "Promised N95 masks for California still aren’t here. Gavin Newsom weighs his options."