Hospitals in the United States are on high alert, with some doctors prioritizing patients in critical condition as the prolonged lockdown in China’s Shanghai has caused a global shortage of chemicals used in medical imaging.
Some of the largest U.S. hospitals said earlier this month they were facing significant shortages of iodinated contrast media products, which are dyes given to the patient so that their internal organs and vessels can picked up by CT scans, x-rays, and radiography.
The dwindling supply was due to the temporary closure of the production facility of General Electric’s healthcare unit in Shanghai, a trade hub that has been locked down for nearly two months. Though the factory has been allowed to resume operation gradually, the Greater New York Hospital Association warned that an 80 percent reduction in supply might last through the end of June, according to a May 5 statement.
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