The action sends a message to the producers of masks too; that they shouldn't bother trying to meet the public's demand for masks by massively scaling up production because the government won't allow those sales. By suppressing perceived demand for masks, the economics of scaling up production become less appealing to manufacturers.
> Health care professionals from the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Medical Association (AMA), and the American Nurses Association (ANA) sent a joint letter to President Donald Trump on Saturday pleading for more medical supplies amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
> In the letter, the three organizations implored Trump to utilize the Defense Production Act (DPA) to help with the “dwindling supplies” of respirators, surgical masks, and other necessary tools.
That's not all the government is doing though. They are saying things that will convince people in the future, once this pandemic and supply problems are resolved, that they shouldn't bother buying masks to prepare for the next time. They're suppressing demand for masks not only in the present but in the future as well. In doing so, they make mask manufacturers less inclined to scale up production now or ever, since scaling up production now would become a liability for them in the near-future when the medical industry returns to buying the normal number of masks again. Increased long-term public demand for masks would support the long-term increased production of masks and would therefore make mask manufacturers more inclined to make long-term investments in their manufacturing capacity.
Furthermore, increasing long-term public demand for masks would reduce the severity of future respiratory pandemics, since a larger portion of the population would be prepared in the future.
Edit:
> "There are two issues you're mixing together. The government should stop lying [...]"
That's on-message for this entire discussion as far as I'm concerned. The topic for discussion is the CDC's lies. Discussing the distribution of masks without discussing authorities suppressing the demand for masks is myopic. These two issues are not distinct.
