Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) has a long and well-documented history of ideological opposition to PVC. They have taken every opportunity to push misleading, anti-PVC talking points, which has required us to publicly correct their misstatements and misinformation on numerous occasions. 

But recently, HCWH has reached a new low. In the middle of a global pandemic, when PVC products are being used by our essential medical professionals to protect themselves from the virus, HCWH has decided to put their ideology above public health by attacking PVC and promoting inferior and untested alternatives. 

We’ve written before on why PVC is critically important to the healthcare industry. That’s because PVC is easy to clean, resilient to harsh cleaners, and durable, making it ideal for use in hundreds of applications in medical facilities where it helps reduce and prevent healthcare-associated infections. We’ve also written about PVC being used as an effective barrier to protect doctors and nurses from highly contagious diseases like Ebola and now COVID-19. The simple fact is that PVC is indispensable to modern medical care.

What’s more, vinyl manufacturers have stepped up to the challenge and are helping our communities, our country, and the world during this crisis. Our members are continuing to produce resin for critical medical needs like IV and blood bags, medical tubing, and hundreds of other medical applications. 

They have produced and donated hand sanitizer and material for face shields. They have transitioned their plants from making roofing materials to manufacturing PPE gowns, sewing cloth masks, and begun making sanitary patient containment units. They have  donated vinyl flooring to make temporary hospitals more sanitary, and given millions of dollars to COVID-19 treatment and recovery efforts. We’re curious what HCWH has been doing other than push its baseless, anti-chemical agenda. 

It seems HCWH would rather have front line workers rely on untested equipment void of the one proven material that can serve as an impenetrable shield to minimize the spread of infection. Even a pandemic won’t stop HCWH from continuing to deceive the public about vinyl material.   

For years we have stated HCWH is an ideologically-entrenched opponent of PVC whose views lack scientific credibility. Today we don’t need to repeat it; their actions speak for themselves.