The only thing the Defense Production Act is going to help, is placing the federal government at the front of the queue. You can’t spin up a factory that makes X into one that makes Y without months or years of retooling.
By the time more mask factories are up, the capacity will no longer be needed. Same goes for ventilators. Too little too late; shouldn’t have outsourced manufacturing to China a generation ago.
If we had that manufacturing capacity here we would face similar issues since those factories would ideally be shut. If not shuttered, their labor forces would be suffering along with productivity as everyone gets infected.
The better solution is diversification of global supply chains which benefits all countries long-term.
By the time more mask factories are up, the capacity will no longer be needed. Same goes for ventilators. Too little too late; shouldn’t have outsourced manufacturing to China a generation ago.