The US department of defense (DOD) in coordination the department of health and human services recently awarded a $6.5-million contract to U.S. Cotton, the largest manufacturer of cotton swabs in the country, to raise domestic production capability for polyester-tipped swabs for home testing kits and mass testing applications to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, U.S. Cotton has retooled operations to produce over 400 million COVID testing kit swabs.The US department of defense (DOD) in coordination the department of health and human services recently awarded a $6.5-million contract to U.S. Cotton, the largest manufacturer of cotton swabs in the country, to raise domestic production capability for polyester-tipped swabs for home testing kits and mass testing applications to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.#
The announcement was part of the administration’s broader effort to increase domestic production capability for essential medical supplies.
The Cleveland, Ohio-based company said it will increase its production capacity from 92 million polyester swab tips per month to approximately 371 million polyester swab tips per month by May 2022 to support domestic COVID-19 testing.
The DOD contract was funded through the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to support the domestic industry base expansion for critical medical resources, according to a press release from the National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO).
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)