April 13, 2020
As state governments around the country race to accumulate personal protective equipment (PPE), the Strategic National Stockpile – which holds supplies for pandemics and other emergencies – has almost run out, according to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). A report by the House Oversight and Reform Committee said that 90% of the stockpiles’ supplies have already been sent to state and local governments, and that the remaining percentage will be kept on-hand for federal use.
The announcement comes amid continued shortages and bidding wars over PPE. With the federal government providing limited resources, states have become embroiled in bidding wars over remaining supplies. Last week, the President announced the enactment of the Defense Production Act, which requires factories and manufacturers around the country to focus on producing emergency equipment instead of their usual inventory. However, experts and politicians have said that the decision has come too late to provide adequate supplies in time for the worst of the outbreak. Although HHS placed two large orders for medical gear in March, the projected deliveries will not take place until the end of April, while the pandemic’s peak in the U.S. is slated for the middle of the month.
According to AP reports, the shortage is due in large part to the severely delayed response from the federal government regarding COVID-19. Although warnings about the pandemic surfaced as early as January, the government waited to order more supplies until March, by which point many hospitals were already overwhelmed with patients and severely lacking necessary PPE. Federal officials have reportedly failed to respond with an explanation for the delayed decision, but the President spent the two months downplaying the potential impact of the virus, and resisted the implementation of the Defense Production Act for over a month.
The Stockpile was originally created to avoid potential production chain disruption from Y2K, and later, to prepare for additional terrorist attacks after 9/11. It was first used as a backup for a potential pandemic in 2006, but most of the medical supplies were used during the H1N1 outbreak of 2009.
At the Whitehouse Coronavirus Task Force Briefing held on April 13, President Trump stated the federal stockpile is being replenished.
Sources:
- Biesecker, Michael. 2020, April 9. HHS: Federal stocks of protective equipment nearly depleted. Associated Press.
- Biesecker, Michael. 2020, April 6. US ‘wasted’ months before preparing for coronavirus pandemic. Associated Press.
- The Whitehouse. Members of the Coronavirus Task Force Hold a Press Briefing. April 13, 2020.