Politics
The Future of the U.S. National Stockpile Isn’t a Bigger Stockpile
Experts say being crisis-ready is about supply-line visibility and nimble manufacturing, not boxes on shelves.
Stacks of medical supplies at a Strategic National Stockpile warehouse in an undisclosed location.
Source: Stategic National Stockpile/CDCThis article is for subscribers only.
This spring, as overwhelmed doctors and nurses struggled to find protective gear while they treated Covid-19 patients, many Americans learned for the first time about a previously obscure government stash divided among secret warehouses across the country: the Strategic National Stockpile.
The stockpile was created in 1998 to hold drugs and vaccines in case of a biological or chemical threat to the U.S. Over time, it’s also added personal protective equipment—such as masks and gowns—as well as antibiotics, emergency medicines, and, recently, testing supplies like nasal swabs.