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Inflexible short-run supply chains bite us again.
‘It’s Like Groundhog Day’: Coronavirus Testing Labs Again Lack Key Supplies https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/health/coronavirus-testing-supply-shortage.html?smid=tw-share
‘It’s Like Groundhog Day’: Coronavirus Testing Labs Again Lack Key Supplies https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/23/health/coronavirus-testing-supply-shortage.html?smid=tw-share
Especially when combined with a short-run public health externality, the fixed costs of increasing production have strong features of a public good. The private sector won't solve the problem under these circumstances, as the short-run private profit payoff is insufficient.
The article talks about a shortage of "tiny pieces of tapered plastic." Any plan for mass testing has to think about the entire supply chain, including all the tiny bits of plastic, etc., even if those pieces seems very cheap and abundant prior to the start of mass testing.
This is the reason that vaccine advocates are thinking hard about the world supply of glass vials. It is super possible that we pre-order 100s of millions of doses of vaccines, those vaccines are effective, and then we lack the vials to distribute them. https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/07/13/coronavirus-vaccine-corning-glass/
