Critical materials in crisis

Project description The provision of critical materials such as mouth masks, respirators and testing was (and remains) crucial during the pandemic. The presence of these critical materials (timeliness, quality and quantity) turned out to be a bottleneck for the care capacity. Different countries have dealt with this differently and now have different strategies for the second wave and a new pandemic. Examples are the development of a national manufacturing industry and the stockpiling of iron stocks. The aim of this research is to learn from an international comparison of the different strategies in the COVID-19 crisis. The Dutch approach to material supply is compared with that of 23 other countries. Within the Netherlands, this takes place on a national level, but also in various institutions in the cure (hospitals) and care (including nursing homes) sector. The results are expected at the end of 2021.