Depleted national stockpile contributed to COVID PPE shortage
Sources both inside and outside the government raised alarms, pre-COVID, about leaving the nation and its frontline healthcare workers without a PPE safety net. But in the absence of an acute crisis, fully replenishing the stockpile was not a priority.
Fred Leighty, warehouse manager at Oklahoma's Strategic National Stockpile warehouse, walks through the warehouse Tuesday, April 7, 2020, in Oklahoma City. In the warehouse are roughly four million pairs of gloves, 120 thousand gowns, 173 thousand face shields and goggles, 900 thousand surgical and medical masks, 110 thousand respirators and a variety of other personal protections equipment. The actual numbers vary as more supplies arrive and are shipped out daily. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
