USA Today factchecked an article from Daily Wire claiming that the Obama administration neglected to replenish the CDC national stockpile of masks after dipping into it several times during his tenure.
During the presidency of Barack Obama, the national stockpile was seriously taxed as the administration addressed multiple crises over eight years. About “75 percent of N95 respirators and 25 percent of face masks contained in the CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile (∼100 million products) were deployed for use in health care settings over the course of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic response,” according to a 2017 study in the journal Health Security.
Again according to NIH, the stockpile’s resources were also used during hurricanes Alex, Irene, Isaac and Sandy. Flooding in 2010 in North Dakota also called for stockpile funds to be deployed. The 2014 outbreaks of the ebola virus and botulism, as well as the 2016 outbreak of the zika virus, continued to significantly tax the stockpile with no serious effort from the Obama administration to replenish the fund.
TO their credit, they confirmed it as true:
We rate this claim TRUE because it is supported by our research. There is no indication that the Obama administration took significant steps to replenish the supply of N95 masks in the Strategic National Stockpile after it was depleted from repeated crises. Calls for action came from experts at the time concerned for the country’s ability to respond to future serious pandemics. Such recommendations were, for whatever reason, not heeded.
Well that’s awkward. Of course, this doesn’t exonerate Trump of other claims that his response to the coronavirus outbreak wasn’t perfect, or could have been better. BUT, it proves you can’t put all the blame on the current administration and when he says Obama has to take some of the blame, he’s right. [h/t @SaintRpH]
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That’s it for Saturday. We hope you’re doing well, and staying healthy. Please help us keep this site alive by sharing and spreading our posts, we really do appreciate every single share.
Now for your open thread comment fodder:
Bill Gates is setting up factories to manufacture 7 leading vaccine candidates before we know which is best & safest; we can test the vaccines in parallel, and then throw away all but the factory for the best vaccine. May save many months.
Just extraordinary. pic.twitter.com/JGjkJ6FKNa
— michael_nielsen (@michael_nielsen) April 4, 2020
Had a police helicopter fly over my neighborhood last night announcing there was a series of break ins the last two nights, & to be vigilant. I feel like this is just the beginning. People are getting desperate.
— Aubrey Huff (@aubrey_huff) April 4, 2020
Pneumonia Deaths have fallen off a cliff this year, I wonder what could have caused this to happen…..🤷🏼♂️ pic.twitter.com/54TzjR9YCb
— l E T 17 (@Inevitable_ET) April 4, 2020
I’m sitting on my back porch, and i sneezed, and I heard someone from a balcony above me say “OH NO”
— Jessica Fletcher (@heckyessica) April 4, 2020
My boyfriend just said “HEYYYY” and I yelled “MUST BE THE MONAYYYY” because I did not realize that he had just started a Zoom conference call.
— Jenny Jaffe (@jennyjaffe) April 3, 2020
If I had known I was going to be quarantined for two months I would have married someone
— Kirstie Alley (@kirstiealley) April 4, 2020
Louis CK has a new special and Twitter is now like pic.twitter.com/xNv6oYXABV
— Frank Mineo (@DYmilkshake) April 4, 2020
Hope some of those made you laugh. Take care of yourselves. And wash your hands!