(suspenseful music) - Welcome to Crosscut Now.

In today's episode, we're learning why millions of pandemic supplies ranging from masks to equipment were thrown away.

We'll learn why some public health officials say the trashing of those supplies highlights a lack of preparedness for future events.

We'll also look at how Spokane leaders and businesses have rallied together to bring back a publication that was a staple for the Black community after its founder's death.

And Bartell Drugs started in 1890 with one store in Seattle Central District.

Now, more and more locations of the iconic drugstore are shuttering.

I'm Paris Jackson.

Today's top story, millions of masks, gowns, and other pandemic protective equipment were trashed by the state after they expired.

We'll explain why some public health officials say that offloading highlights shortcomings and national disaster preparedness.

(suspenseful music) Millions of pieces of pandemic protective gear stockpiled in the state during the pandemic are now in the trash four years after hospital workers face shortages to acquire those very same supplies.

More than 14 million gowns, 5 million surgical masks, and 140,000 face shields were tossed out as of July, 2023 according to the Washington Department of Health.

The agency paid about 1.5 million for those supplies.

The state is not alone in letting go of its painstakingly acquired surplus.

At least 15 states have dumped pandemic stockpiles a December, 2023 report found according to the Associated Press.

Some public health officials argue the disposing showcases the shortcomings and national disaster preparedness.

Many of the supplies had expired, but officials say the supplies are still mostly effective past their expiration date.

A DOH officials said the agency threw away expired supplies with no market value and little demand among hospitals and keeping the supplies would've continued to cost money in space for storage.

I sat down with Cascade PBS investigative reporter Brandon Block to learn how these stockpiles are maintained and why some argue the state should have avoided discarding so much protective gear.

Welcome, Brandon.

Thank you for joining us today for Crosscut Now.

- Thanks for having me.

- We're now four years out since the COVID-19 pandemic, and what we've learned through your reporting is millions of stockpiled pandemic gear has been thrown away.

Why was that done?

- States are now kind of in the process of culling these stockpiles that they assembled over the past couple years, and I interviewed someone at the State Department of Health about this, but before I tell you what he said, I think it's just worth remembering for a second that just a few years ago, there were desperate shortages of these supplies.

Workers in Seattle hospitals were going to Home Depot and rigging their own face shields from vinyl and tape.

They did this because states struggled to source enough masks at the beginning of the pandemic.

They eventually were able to source those masks and develop these big stockpiles that they're now starting to pare down.

I interviewed a logistics expert at the State Department of Health and he told me a couple of things.

He emphasized that they did donate some of these supplies.

There was a donation to the Marshall Islands of several hundred thousand masks and gowns, and that the kind of the main points were that many of these supplies, in fact, all of the ones they threw out are technically pass their expiration dates and that there's also just not a lot of demand amongst hospitals for some of these supplies anymore.

They're able to source the things that they need on the market, but really it comes down to a consideration of cost, because it costs the state money to continue storing these supplies indefinitely.

They also have to make decisions around what things to prioritize for storage.

And so ultimately, they decided that, you know, whatever potential value these materials could have had, and, you know, the event of a future disaster was outweighed by the cost of the state of keeping them around.

- And the idea of expiration.

There's layers to that, and I'm thinking of in your reporting when you talk about the N95 mask.

Kind of tell us about what does expiration really mean?

- Yeah, that's actually a really complicated question.

There is one medical expert who I quote in the story who basically says that N95 masks in particular really don't expire in terms of their functionality.

And this is backed up by research done by the CDC in 2020 where they tested a pretty robust sample of expired N95 masks and found that they mostly performed up to federal standards of giving you the level of protection that federal standards require.

There have been some other studies.

There was a French university study that echoed this as well.

Really what does wear are the elastic bands on the sides of the mask.

And that can pose problems, because especially with the N95 masks, their efficacy is based on them being tight fitting.

Just because a masses expired doesn't mean that it can't provide a good level of protection.

And so there is, I think, a compelling argument that these materials could be really useful in the event of another emergency.

- What have we learned from the pandemic and how prepared are we now?

- You know, the lesson that public health professionals have expressed is just that we don't know what the next disaster is gonna look like.

And so, it might be worth keeping these materials around.

We certainly saw what happened last time.

We didn't have enough of them, so even just storing them for the next crisis could, you know, potentially save lives.

We just don't know.

- Some public health officials are critical of how the state went about throwing away millions of these pandemic supplies.

What were alternatives that were suggested?

- Yeah, that's a great question and the state I think in fairness would say that they did attempt to reach out to community groups and hospitals and medical schools to see if they could donate some of these supplies before throwing them out.

But as we can see, millions of them were still thrown out.

I spoke to a public health expert who's the executive director of the American Public Health Association, and he threw out a few ideas.

One of the things he said was, people who are janitors or cleaners and in other professions, you know, non-medical settings where, you know, you wouldn't wanna use an expired mask in surgery necessarily, but other professions where, you know, it's just about blocking particulate matter.

Those are possible options.

One could throw out any number of potential suggestions.

A reader emailed me after the story came out and said, "Hey, did anyone think about donating these to hospitals in developing countries?"

And, you know, I don't know how plausible a scenario that is, but it's worth thinking about if there is a better use for these materials.

- Excellent reporting.

A lot of information in that article.

Brandon, thank you for joining us today.

- My pleasure, thanks for having me, Paris.

- You're welcome.

If you would like to read Brandon's full article, just go to crosscut.com for more.

(suspenseful music) A publication the Black community in Spokane relied on for events and happenings has relaunched.

We'll tell you who's behind the re-emergence of "The Black Lens" coming up.

Today's story takes us to Eastern Washington, where Spokane businesses and community leaders have rallied to help relaunch a Black newspaper that had been a staple for events and information for nearly a decade.

In February, the latest edition of "The Black Lens" rolled out after a nearly two year halt in publication, appearing in "The Spokesman Review" and in black-owned small businesses and churches.

The future of the community newspaper faced uncertainty after its founder and community activist, Sandy Williams died in September, 2022.

Spokane attorney Natasha Hill is the new interim editor coordinating the rollout of the publication.

The city's new NAACP president believes "The Black Lens" is crucial to bringing Spokane's Black community together, representing them in a way that doesn't happen in other media outlets.

"Spokesman Review" editor Rob Curley was a friend of Williams and supporter of "The Black Lens".

He helped secure grant funding for a race and equity reporter that would write for both publications.

(suspenseful music) One of Seattle's oldest stores is slowly going away.

We'll dive into what's happening with Bartell Drugs stores after being acquired by one of the biggest pharmacy chains in the US.

A part of Seattle nostalgia slowly shuttering one by one leaving longtime Seattleites reminiscing on the better times of a former family-owned drugstore.

Currently, there are 40 or so Bartell Drugs stores across the Puget Sound Region.

The former family-owned Seattle based chain that started in 1890 specializes in products made in the Northwest as well as their pharmacies.

In the last three years, at least 25 have shut their doors for good.

The major changes began in 2020 after Rite Aid bought 67 locations of Bartell Drugs.

At the time of the sake, both Bartell and Rite Aid brass issued press announcing that everything would stay exactly the same and maybe better.

Rite Aid quickly closed many locations as customers reported prescriptions delayed or lost, or backed up with massive lines when Rite Aid moved Bartells to their computer software.

Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy in October of 2023.

A recent McKinsey report noted that the number of independent retail pharmacies had decreased by 50% since 1980, and that more consolidation is certain.

I'm Paris Jackson, thank you for watching Crosscut Now your destination for nonprofit Northwest News.

Go to crosscut.com for more.

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