Posted on 03/28/2020 7:38:09 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
As health care workers around the country labor under shortages of personal protective equipment, all eyes are on the Strategic National Stockpile - the country's largest repository of drugs and medical equipment for use in a public health crisis.
But the U.S. strategic stockpile isn't intended to be the solution to a crisis. It's designed to be used as a stopgap during emergencies. The stockpile has limited resources, government officials and public health experts say, which weren't at full capacity even before the coronavirus was on the horizon.
"The Strategic National Stockpile is not designed to be the sole solution to these problems," said Greg Burel, who directed the stockpile program for more than 12 years until his long-planned retirement in January. He said the shortages of personal protective equipment across the country - and the fact that states already need items from the stockpile - illustrate a systemwide failure in American health care.
The stockpile wasn't at full capacity before the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S., in part because it never fully replenished some of the critical supplies used in the 2009 H1N1 pandemic response, Burel said. During that crisis, at least 25 percent of the supply of antiviral drugs designated for influenza were used, as well as a significant amount of personal protective equipment - the very supplies hospitals are in dire need of right now.
HHS said that it has it has maintained supplies of personal protective equipment in the stockpile and that it has made several additional purchases, but "priorities for SNS inventory are balanced against congressionally available funding and direction."
"That stock was never replenished because we never received additional appropriations," Burel said. "We are not in the optimum situation right now."
(Excerpt) Read more at nbcnews.com ...
It hasn’t happened yet but it is the same w/food. The government used to have literal stockpiles of food but that went by the wayside long ago. If we ever have a real shortage we are SOL.
I can find food, although I’d have to do without milk, don’t have any dairy cows, I hated milking them anyway.
Wow, an article that does not blame President Trump. Guessing that will be pulled in no time.
Congress is not accountable for anything.
It's foundational for the blame game. Trump inherited a depleted stockpile, and did not raise enough of a fuss about it to get Congress' attention.
“But the U.S. strategic stockpile isn’t intended to be the solution to a crisis. It’s designed to be used as a stopgap during emergencies.”
Could someone please explain to me the difference between a crisis and an emergency? Thanks.
“Trump inherited a depleted stockpile, and did not raise enough of a fuss about it to get Congress’ attention. “
Did anybody at CDC, NIH or other agencies related to this problem ever bother to tell him? Or do they expect President Trump to go rooting through all the bureaucracies looking for problems? Doesn’t Congress have oversight?
I can tell you one reason why many businesses are in short supply of critical items. About 20 years ago everyone went to Just In Time. Most companies, including hospitals, can predict their needs. They therefore buy products that are delivered, sometimes within minutes of actual need. This is fine, so long as nothing extraordinary happens, like a trucker strike, a hurricane or a war. The money and storage cost saved by JIT is astonishing. But it assumes everything is always just fine.
The press is all about the narrative. Truth will be suppressed or advanced as necessary to advance the narrative.
As for the blame game between Congress and the other bureaucracies, the desired result of that is more tax money, more government, and more top-down regulation.
Republicans are required to be omniscient.
Democrats are said to be omnipotent...
JIT, or as I've always called it: OSWO - Oh Shucks, We're Out...
Only I didn't say "Shucks".
shucks use to be a “bad” word.
I think shucks was name of diapers ??
Neither did I...
This would be an excellent time to release and distribute all the older supplies, as long as the stockpile was actually replenished in two months when production finally has ramped up past demand. And we can be confident that Trump would do that.
I thought that’s what you did to corn, or oysters.
Oh, shucks... you’re right. I’m getting like Biden!
You can but how many others could?
How do we correct that?
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