Coronavirus Reveals the Vulnerable Nature of Our Medical Supply Chain

It should have been an April Fools joke, but it really happened. A Russian cargo jet landed in the United States last week carrying masks and other medical supplies to aid our response to the coronavirus pandemic. So if nothing else, this propaganda stunt by Moscow reveals the simple fact that we need a serious conversation about the national supply chain for critical materials, which is woefully unprepared for a crisis.

Perhaps even worse, the Department of Homeland Security reports that the national stockpile of personal protective gear is almost depleted. In the sobering words of an official, “The stockpile was designed to respond to a handful of cities. It was never built or designed to fight a pandemic in 50 states.” The official said the supply chain for personal protective gear has also broken down. Just how fragile is the supply chain?

In the wake of Hurricane Maria, which devastated Puerto Rico and left it still recovering from that disaster, the world saw a significant shortage of intravenous bags. Why was this the case? Baxter International, a leading manufacturer of these critical items, like much of the island, lost power. The company shipped close to a million intravenous bags a day to the United States. With one storm, that capacity was wiped out.

The coronavirus has placed a sizable strain on global health infrastructure and increased demand for drugs, vitamins, antibiotics, and other medical necessities. Where exactly does the United States get close to 90 percent of these materials from? The answer is China. According to research done by the Council on Foreign Relations, Chinese manufacturers do supply the overwhelming and alarming majority of vitamins, antibiotics, ibuprofen, acetaminophen, and hydrocortisone in the United States.

Just think about that. The leading economic competitor and the largest military challenge facing the United States, one with whom Washington has engaged in a trade war, supplies the vast majority of basic medicines and precursor chemicals. In the event of a crisis, such as the coronavirus pandemic or a confrontation in the South China Sea, what stops Beijing from suspending shipments of all of these drugs and tools?