On Sept. 14, 2020, the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD), on behalf of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), signed contracts with nine America businesses for the delivery of 73 million COVID-19 disposable isolation gowns at a cost of $335M. The contracts supported the replenishment of the HHS-managed Strategic National Stockpile and deliver by January 2021. These contracts had a ceiling of $1.2 billion to manufacture up to 275 million gowns if the Strategic National Stockpile required additional gowns

All of the gowns procured adhere to the Berry Amendment, an acquisition regulation that requires DOD to give preference to domestically produced clothing and textiles. Eight of the nine gown contract awardees are American small businesses, with the largest portion of the quantities going to a woman-owned small business.

The DOD has signed contracts with five U.S. small businesses worth a maximum value of $136 million for 15 million COVID-19 reusable isolation gowns, which will also be used for the replenishment of the Strategic National Stockpile.