Surges of COVID-19, flu, and other respiratory illnesses are forcing the U.S. government to do something it normally reserves for emergencies: releasing hordes of stockpiled Tamiflu to states that urgently need more flu medicine.
The move from the Department of Health and Human Services on Wednesday was through the Strategic National Stock (SNS), which allows the government to tap into its stockpiles of drugs and other medical supplies in the event of a massive outbreak or outbreak. another health crisis.
That is true. There is a network of warehouses, each the size of several Walmart supermarkets, located in top secret locations across the country. And while much of the stock remains a secret, it continues to play a vital role in the COVID pandemic.
Here’s what we know about the multi-billion dollar inventory of vaccines, equipment and other medical supplies designed to help save lives.
What type of supplies does the SNS stock?
In short, just about any medical supplies that might come in handy during a massive outbreak or health crisis.
The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR), a division of HHS, details part of the inventory on its website:
There are 1,960 containers of nerve agent antidotes, known as chempacks, in the event of a chemical incident, in more than 1,340 locations, such as fire stations and hospitals, across the United States. United. Over 90% of Americans live within an hour of one. locations, according to the ASPR.
If a natural disaster or other disaster affects the number of hospitals or the amount of medical equipment available, the SNS can deploy “rapid deployment caches” which come with a bed and other medical supplies. Each of these federal medical stations can accommodate 50 to 250 patients and comes with enough pharmaceutical supplies to last three days.
The SNS also says it has “millions of masks, gloves, gowns, N95 respirators, face shields and other necessary supplies” and 16 different models of ventilators ready for people with COVID.
What is the point of storing so many drugs?
The SNS is supposed to be there in case we need it. By having so many medical supplies in stock, the nation is meant to help when local agencies run out or when massive amounts of medical supplies are needed at any given time.
The SNS “serves as a national repository of drugs and supplies for use in the event of a public health emergency, such as a terrorist attack, an influenza epidemic or a natural disaster, severe enough to cause local stocks to be depleted” . according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
When did the US government start doing this?
Congress authorized the creation of the SNS, then known as the National Pharmaceutical Stockpile, in 1999, according to the CDC.
The federal government originally created the SNS to combat chemical or biological attacks. It has since been used to help fight disease outbreaks, such as Ebola and monkeypox (now called mbox), but officials have begun to take note of its use during the pandemic. led to drastic shortages of essential medical supplies.
But despite its inception, budget cuts, issues with the global supply chain and manufacturing issues have left the SNS ill-equipped to deal with the pandemic, according to an NPR survey. Even nine months into the pandemic, the survey revealed that the SNS was still short of essential medical supplies.
More recently, an October 2022 report from the United States Government Accountability Office found that the SNS had failed to provide the country with enough resources to fight the pandemic.
“The COVID-19 response was also a catalyst for HHS to re-examine SNS operations, including the role, responsibilities, expertise and inventory needed moving forward,” says the GAO report.
What do we know about these warehouses?
Imagine a huge warehouse filled with shelves and shelves of medical supplies as far as the eye can see.
Warehouse locations are a secret. But over the years, officials have shared information about their size and inventory.
In 2016, Nell Greenfieldboyce of NPR saw one of the huge warehouses. Greg Burel, then director of the SNS, told him that the stockpile inventory was worth about $7 billion – a considerable increase from the allocated budget of $50 million in 1999.
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