The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken action to increase U.S. supplies to support the U.S. response to COVID-19 by providing instructions to manufacturers importing personal protective equipment (PPE) and other devices.
One of FDA’s priorities in combating the COVID-19 pandemic is facilitating access to critical PPE and devices. It is engaging with importers and others involved in the import trade community during this pandemic to facilitate the entry of needed products, including PPE, into the U.S. These instructions to importers clarify the types of PPE that can be imported without engaging with FDA. They also include information about the type of information importers can submit to facilitate their entries. It has adjusted its import screening to further expedite imports of legitimate products and is continually monitoring its import systems to prevent and mitigate any potential issues.