Characteristics Of Medical Device Shortages In The US, 2006-20.

Shortages of critical medical devices during the COVID-19 pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in device markets. From 2010 to 2019 there were approximately five shortages annually, but that number increased fourfold in the first half of 2020. Although most 2020 shortages were triggered by the pandemic, pre-2020 shortages stemmed from regulatory and enforcement actions related to product quality and manufacturing.