Department of Homeland Security warns the US is ‘likely’ to see shortages of pharmaceutical drugs if the coronavirus outbreak forces another round of widespread shutdowns
- Department of Homeland Security said the US is already seeing shortages of more than 200 drugs and medical supplies due to strains caused by shutdowns
- The department has warned that the United States could see a shortage of generic pharmaceutical drugs if the coronavirus outbreak continues
- Officials said that if outbreak forces another round of widespread shutdowns, many US-based pharmaceutical companies would be ‘unable to quickly offset’
The Department of Homeland Security has warned that the United States could see a shortage of generic pharmaceutical drugs if the coronavirus outbreak continues.
According to the report, obtained by ABC News, the department said the country is already seeing shortages of more than 200 drugs and medical supplies due to strains caused by international shutdowns during the pandemic.
Officials concluded that if the outbreak forces another round of widespread shutdowns, many US-based pharmaceutical companies would be ‘unable to quickly offset’.
‘Chinese factories that produce raw ingredients for common antibiotics closed for weeks as of March and India’s lockdown extended until the end of May,’ the report said.
The Department of Homeland Security has warned that the United States could see a shortage of generic pharmaceutical drugs if the coronavirus outbreak continues
According to officials, ‘France, Germany, and China have also considered re-imposing lockdown measures as COVID-19 cases have begun to re-emerge’.
The report was released as US officials scramble to curb the virus in big states like Texas, Arizona and Florida, where thousands of new cases are reported daily.
Rural states are also seeing surges of infections, including in Kansas.
The coronavirus resurgence in the US has drawn concern from abroad. The European Union seems almost certain to bar Americans from traveling to the bloc in the short term as it draws up new travel rules to be announced soon.
The surges of infections prompted Vice President Mike Pence to call off campaign events in Florida and Arizona, though he will still travel to those states and to Texas this week to meet with their Republican governors.
Those three governors have come under criticism for aggressively reopening their economies after virus-related lockdowns despite increasing infections in their states.
According to the report, the department said the country is already seeing shortages of more than 200 drugs and medical supplies due to strains caused by international shutdowns during the pandemic. Employees are seen at a pharmaceutical company in Nantong City, China
After confirmed daily infections in the US surged to an all-time high of 40,000 on Friday, Texas and Florida reversed course and closed down bars again.
Globally, confirmed COVID-19 cases have passed the 10 million mark and confirmed deaths neared half a million, according to a tally by the Johns Hopkins University, with the US, Brazil, Russia and India having the most cases.
The US has borne the brunt of the global outbreak, recording more than 2.5 million confirmed cases, followed by 1.3 million in Brazil and 633,000 in Russia.
The US also has the highest virus death toll in the world at over 125,000.
Experts say all those figures significantly undercount the true toll of the pandemic, due to limited testing and missed mild cases.
US government experts last week estimated the US alone could have had 10 million cases.