Health concerns spike local sales

Marcus Larson/News-Register## At Mac Prescription Shop, soap and hand sanitizer shelves were empty Monday. Many McMinnville stores sold out over the weekend.

Marcus Larson/News-Register## Bi-Mart shelves were mostly empty of sanitation wipes Monday, but a new supply of Clorox wipes had just been delivered (center right).

Marcus Larson/News-Register## Bi-Mart posts signs noting that hand sanitizer, bottled water and face masks were mostly sold out by Monday morning.

Marcus Larson/News-Register ## Distilled water is completely sold out and on back order at Bi-Mart. Other stores also have run out of products as area residents rush to buy items that might protect them from viruses.

Respirator masks are sold out at Mac Medical Shop on Third Street in McMinnville, and customer service representative Ellie Martinez doesn’t expect the stock to be replenished any time soon.

The store ran out of N-95 filter masks, the thickest and most popular, by the second week in January, Martinez said. All other masks sold out last week, she said.

Customers bought out the inventory even though health officials nationwide have rejected the use of masks as a way for healthy people to prevent infection, and urged consumers to leave them for those who need them, such as health care workers.

Vendors told Martinez they have no idea when more masks will be available.

Business has been brisk for a number of local stores amid concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. Shelves are increasingly barren as people stock up on food and other items in case of illness or quarantine. In Oregon, three people have tested positive for COVID-19.

“Obviously, people are buying stuff,” Don Lieber, a spokesman for Bi-Mart, told the News-Register. “We don’t have global percentage numbers per se, but sales have jumped up dramatically.”

Other than that, like most local business people, he had little to say. Managers at WinCo Foods, Walmart and other retail outlets deferred comments to corporate spokespeople who did not return calls.

Many of those coming to Mac Prescription Shop, across from Mac Medical, asked about the N-95 filter masks.

“People are buying them because they’re scared,” Martinez said. “They think it will keep them from getting sick.”

However, she added, they may be mistaken.

“The masks will provide some coverage as to you spreading the disease,” she said. “That’s the main purpose of it -- keeping you from spreading the disease to other people.”

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams urges American not to buy N-95 masks unless they’re already sick or are a health-care worker.

“It actually does not help and it has not been proven to be effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus amongst the general public,” he said.

Dr. Thomas Cronin, an emergency room physician at Willamette Valley Medical Center, also questioned the effectiveness of masks.

Cronin flew to Fort Ashland in Nebraska last month to assist the National Disaster Medical System during a 14-day quarantine of 57 people who had visited Wuhan, China, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak.

“If masks are the wrong size or worn incorrectly they will not work,” Cronin said. “They will not be effective with most facial hair.”

He added there is a precise protocol for using medical masks and the protocol must be followed to avoid contamination, “and this also requires training,” he said.

N-95 masks are the most common type face-piece respirators used to filter particulates. They can filter some 95% of airborne particles.

Martinez said they are particularly popular with people who suffer from springtime allergies or who struggle with smoke from wildfires and other sources.

Come spring, she said, allergy sufferers might find the masks in short supply.

Now that masks have sold out, Martinez said customers come in looking for another increasingly scarce commodity: hand sanitizer.

“Just this week, people are looking for hand sanitizer,” she said. “Before that, it was just the masks.”

Mac Prescription sells hand sanitizer, but was sold out of it by Monday. “It isn’t something we get great gobs of anyway,” pharmacist Staci Wieler said.

In general, Wieler said, she and her coworkers have seen little evidence of public jitters over COVID-19. 

“We’re not seeing anything, but there’s nothing to do except treat the symptoms,” she said.

Stocking up on enough hand sanitizer, prescription drugs and food for two weeks is a good idea, even without a threat like COVID-19 looming, Cronin said.

“From the general preparedness, this actually is the same message as any other disaster,” he said. “Everyone living in Oregon should already have a disaster plan for earthquakes and the like. This includes plans for child care, pet care and even elder care, should schools or other facilities close.”