One year into the Covid-19 pandemic, many millions of N95 masks are pouring out of American factories and heading into storage, reports AP. Yet doctors and nurses in the US say there still aren’t nearly enough in the “ICU rooms with high-flow oxygen and Covid germs all over".

While supply and demand issues surrounding N95 respirators are well-documented, until now the reasons for this discrepancy have been unclear.

Internal government emails obtained by The Associated Press show there were deliberate decisions to withhold vital information about new mask manufacturers and availability. Exclusive trade data and interviews with manufacturers, hospital procurement officials and frontline medical workers reveal a communication breakdown — not an actual shortage — that is depriving doctors, nurses, paramedics and other people risking exposure to Covid-19 of first-rate protection.