Meanwhile, the mad dash for masks comes amid conflicting and ambiguous statements from key federal agencies about the use of “expired” N95s—millions of which are already held in secret repositories of the nation’s Strategic National Stockpile and elsewhere—as well as guidelines for other types of masks that offer far less protection.

As the health crisis swells, many experts project that America’s healthcare system will be swamped even if worst-case scenarios are never realized. N95 respirators are seen as critical to keeping up to 18 million healthcare workers and other frontline responders safe as they care for those diagnosed with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The shortage of N95s and other critical gear has prompted the creation of the Twitter hashtag #GetUsPPE and a related website created by a group of healthcare professionals to help those with medical supplies donate them to hospitals. PPE is an acronym for personal protective equipment.

Last week, the head of an organization that represents America’s nearly four million registered nurses and other nursing professionals met President Donald Trump. American Nurses Association chief Debbie Hatmaker described how some nurses are currently being forced to reuse masks and rely on other materials to protect themselves, creating potentially unsafe conditions for both nurses and patients. “If frontline professionals are put into danger and become sick, it will exacerbate the crisis in the U.S., much like we have seen happen in China and Italy,” Hatmaker said in a statement. Similarly, an NBC News survey of more than 250 healthcare workers found that “the overwhelming majority of the medical professionals across the country who responded to the NBC News survey expressed concerns about a lack of N95 masks.” The paucity of these masks is also slowing down the rollout of COVID-19 testing, according to the New York Times.