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Federal stockpile of N95 masks was depleted under Obama and never restocked

Revmitchell

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
The national shortage of N95 respirator masks can be traced back to 2009 after the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, when the Obama administration was advised to replenish a national stockpile but did not, according to reports from Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Times.


The Trump administration is scrambling to replenish a stockpile of protective medical gear for healthcare workers and patients, as the coronavirus sweeps across the nation. N95 respirator masks are one of the most needed medical supplies amid the outbreak.

The George W. Bush administration published the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza plan in 2005, which called on the federal government to distribute medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile governed by the Health and Human Services Department in the event of an outbreak.

In 2009, the H1N1 outbreak hit the United States, leading to 274,304 hospitalizations, 12,469 deaths, and a depletion of N95 respirator masks.

A federally backed task force and a safety equipment organization both recommended to the Obama administration that the stockpile be replenished of the 100 million masks used after the H1N1 outbreak, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Charles Johnson, president of the International Safety Equipment Association, said that advice was never heeded.

“Our association is unaware of any major effort to restore the stockpile to cover that drawdown,” he said.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar reported last month that only 12 million N95 masks were available in the stockpile, “a tiny fraction of the 3.5 billion masks one of Azar’s deputies later testified the nation’s healthcare system would need,” the Los Angeles Times noted.

Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg News: Federal stockpile of N95 masks was depleted under Obama and never restocked
 

Use of Time

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
He’s had three years. We are in reaction mode here. Full stop. Articles like this serve no purpose other than to divide. Now isn’t the time.
 

Reynolds

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
The national shortage of N95 respirator masks can be traced back to 2009 after the H1N1 swine flu pandemic, when the Obama administration was advised to replenish a national stockpile but did not, according to reports from Bloomberg News and the Los Angeles Times.


The Trump administration is scrambling to replenish a stockpile of protective medical gear for healthcare workers and patients, as the coronavirus sweeps across the nation. N95 respirator masks are one of the most needed medical supplies amid the outbreak.

The George W. Bush administration published the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza plan in 2005, which called on the federal government to distribute medical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile governed by the Health and Human Services Department in the event of an outbreak.

In 2009, the H1N1 outbreak hit the United States, leading to 274,304 hospitalizations, 12,469 deaths, and a depletion of N95 respirator masks.

A federally backed task force and a safety equipment organization both recommended to the Obama administration that the stockpile be replenished of the 100 million masks used after the H1N1 outbreak, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Charles Johnson, president of the International Safety Equipment Association, said that advice was never heeded.

“Our association is unaware of any major effort to restore the stockpile to cover that drawdown,” he said.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar reported last month that only 12 million N95 masks were available in the stockpile, “a tiny fraction of the 3.5 billion masks one of Azar’s deputies later testified the nation’s healthcare system would need,” the Los Angeles Times noted.

Los Angeles Times and Bloomberg News: Federal stockpile of N95 masks was depleted under Obama and never restocked
Come on Rev.
This shortage is not Obamas fault.
 

Reynolds

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Then who is at fault?
Obama depleted them. He should have put them back. Trump has been in office long enough to have put them back. At some point, everything has to quit being blamed on previous administrations.
 

Salty

20,000 Posts Club
Administrator
Obama depleted them. He should have put them back. Trump has been in office long enough to have put them back. At some point, everything has to quit being blamed on previous administrations.

You do have a point - but - Was Trump aware of this - if not - who should have known?
was some Pvt/low level in charge of stockage or was it the Secretary of the Dept?
 

Reynolds

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
You do have a point - but - Was Trump aware of this - if not - who should have known?
was some Pvt/low level in charge of stockage or was it the Secretary of the Dept?
If Trump was not aware then he was negligent. The buck stops on the desk of the President.
 

Revmitchell

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
If he was not, then he had incompetent people under him at Cabinet level. His people.

Your over simplification of this issue is not helpful. In a government as large as ours the President cannot replace everyone and neither can he know how competent everyone is across the entire government. Further, we know we had and still have some Obama holdovers who are working behind the scenes to oppose this President. It is not reasonable to suggest that Trump should have forseen this or know all the failures of the previous admin to fix.
 

Use of Time

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Your over simplification of this issue is not helpful. In a government as large as ours the President cannot replace everyone and neither can he know how competent everyone is across the entire government. Further, we know we had and still have some Obama holdovers who are working behind the scenes to oppose this President. It is not reasonable to suggest that Trump should have forseen this or know all the failures of the previous admin to fix.

Leadership doesn’t work that way. It’s been three years. I get that it probably wasn’t a priority for either President at the time but when you take command, you take command. I knew you would try and play it this way because of your endless scoreboard watching with politics.
 

Benjamin

Well-Known Member
Site Supporter
Because people need to be held accountable.
I used Hillary's line as an example of what to expect being a Democrat would be at fault. But, to be honest it was meant as sarcasm and I think there are much better things to focus on than trying to lay blame according to political lines and causing more division.

In fact, I think this kind of fault finding at this time is is unproductive and displays a kind of sickness in the opposite direct of TDS.

It is the present that should be the sole focus of where our battle should be and everyone should be working together. .
 
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