Nurses protest lack of PPE in front of White House: 'The administration and Congress have failed'

Carrying posters with photos of nurses who died of COVID-19, members of National Nurses United protested in front of the White House on Tuesday, demanding more personal protective equipment like respirators, gowns, gloves, and face shields for the medical workers treating coronavirus patients.

Six weeks into the COVID-19 pandemic, nurses are "still not protected when they are caring for suspected or COVID-19 patients," Amirah Sequeria, lead legislative advocate for the union, told CBS News. "Nurses are getting sick and nurses are dying and the administration and Congress have failed."

With 150,000 members, National Nurses United is the largest union of registered nurses in the United States. They are asking President Trump to fully invoke the Defense Production Act in order to ramp up production of personal protective equipment and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to enact uniform health and safety standards for PPE.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Britta Breenan, a critical care nurse at Washington Hospital Center, said nurses "are not heroes. We're human beings and we are susceptible just like everyone else is. And if we are dying then we can't take care of our patients. We have had nurses from our hospital die from COVID-19. And they are not dignified deaths."