Scant Stockpiles

The Strategic National Stockpile is a crucial stop-gap resource for the US emergency response.
 
9 months into the pandemic, this clandestine network of warehouses bigger than Walmart, remains woefully inadequate.
 
The government had hoped to collect 300 million masks by winter—less than half have been secured.
 
One Reason: America’s reliance on imported medical supplies amid a global shortage has spurred an ‘every state for itself’ scramble, highlighting the need for a fundamental rethink in global medical supply chains, says former SNS Director Greg Burel.

 “It's like being on eBay with 50 other states bidding on a ventilator,” New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said.
 
NPR