...the twenty first century equivalent of bubonic plague, only instead of killing off a third of the population of Europe it kills 3.4 percent of those who notice they have it. It seems to be fond of the elderly, especially Iranian politicians and holy men...pandemic has revealed a troubling truth: Global supply chains operated by stateless multinational corporations simply aren’t reliable. Americans are learning this in real-time as they see imports from China cut off, particularly for critical medicines and pharmaceuticals. That has put millions of lives at risk since 90 percent of the generic medications that Americans use each day are imported. Even worse, 90 percent of the ingredients for generic drugs used to treat coronavirus infections are sourced from China.
This will have serious consequences for America’s healthcare and national security. In response, Washington must encourage the reshoring of pharmaceutical production as well as the development of countermeasures for future threats, including critical drug treatments, vaccines, medical devices, and personal protective equipment.