WASHINGTON _ The company that has been awarded the largest single COVID-19 federal contract once boasted it charged the Defense Department $7.63 for earplugs that cost 85 cents a pair to produce.
That company, 3M, was awarded a $1 billion contract on April 15 for "medical and surgical instruments, equipment and supplies" by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The IDIQ contract _ "indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity" _ was awarded without taking competing bids from other vendors.
It is also the largest federal contract 3M has been awarded among at least 47 others it has signed with various federal agencies to produce protective gear for the COVID-19 outbreak such as medical gloves, gowns and particularly respirator masks. The masks are critically needed for doctors, nurses, first responders and essential workers.
