FortuneArt Direction: Peter Herbert
“Imagine that the United States entered into a major land and sea war, and that only then, after the conflict began, did the government begin commissioning contracts to design and build the aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and other weapons systems we would need for the fight. Well, the imagination needn’t run too far, because in essence, that is what has happened as we were sucked into our war against the coronavirus. While there is much that can be faulted in our flat-footed response to this pandemic, especially at the federal level, one clear-cut failure should be even more obvious to anyone who has ever run a business: We had glaring gaps in our supply chain and no immediate plan to fill them. Start with the basics: We did not have anywhere near the necessary number of N95 respirator masks, gowns, and other equipment to protect our frontline troops—the medical first-responders and hospital staff. Nor did we have enough ventilators to support our most severely stricken living casualties. Witness the scramble of state governors outbidding one another and the federal government to procure ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPE). While the U.S. does have a Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), an emergency repository of antibiotics, vaccines, chemical antidotes, and other critical medical supplies, it has never been sufficiently maintained. Indeed, no administration, including the present one, has supported funding an SNS robust enough to meet even the first few months’ worth of need during a severe pandemic.”
April 2020