Trump Is Cracking Open Secretive Government Stockpile To Fight Coronavirus
A secretive stockpile of medical supplies is now being tapped to fight the novel coronavirus pandemic.
The Department of Health and Human Services’ “Strategic National Stockpile is organized to support any public health threat,” according to the emergency system’s website.
President Donald Trump’s HHS secretary, Alex Azar, approved the emergency use authorization of the stockpile to combat COVID-19 in early February.
Personal protective gear such as respirators and diagnostic panels are two of the supplies now being pulled from the stockpile.
Thanks to consumers rushing to stores for masks and other supplies, much of the civilian market has been wiped of the valuable tools.
The masks are essential for medical workers and first responders who will work closely with the infected over the course of the current outbreak in the United States.
Now that the stockpile has been opened, those who need masks and other gear the most should have easier access to them.
The stockpile has previously been opened for pathogens such as the Zika and Ebola viruses, as well as for disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terror attacks.
According to a 2016 NPR report, the stockpile is divided across locations throughout America, all of which are secret. The number of warehouses is also a closely guarded secret.
“If everybody knows exactly what we have, then you know exactly what you can do to us that we can’t fix,” National Strategic Stockpile Director Greg Burel told NPR in 2016.
“And we just don’t want that to happen.”
At the time, the stockpile held over $7 billion in equipment and medicines to fight threats on American soil.
Thankfully, the most serious items in the horde, including nerve agent antidotes, have gone unused.
The stockpile’s most recent activation comes as part of the Trump administration’s response to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
The virus’ spread across the globe has quickly become a pandemic, with a staggeringly high case fatality rate that makes it a much deadlier illness than the common flu.
While Trump’s plan has already shut down travel from many infected countries and regions, community spread means the virus’ presence in America will continue to grow.
As the United States ramps up efforts to combat the coronavirus, the stockpiles’ supplies will be essential for an effective response.
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