U.S. security agency ill-prepared to deal with pandemic -audit

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Source: http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/10/23/health-ebola-usa-pandemic-idINL2N0SI3IR20141023


U.S. security agency ill-prepared to deal with pandemic -audit
WASHINGTON Fri Oct 24, 2014 5:02am IST

Oct 23 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which protects sites ranging from land borders and airports to the White House, may not be able to maintain operations in a pandemic due to inadequate supplies of protective gear and drugs for its staff, according to a government report on Thursday.

An audit, conducted by the DHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) and posted on a congressional website, said the sprawling bureaucracy has bought more than $16 million of gear and anti-viral drugs since 2006, often without determining how much it needed or keeping track of where supplies were stored.

The report was released ahead of a House of Representatives committee hearing, scheduled for Friday, to examine the Obama administration's response to the Ebola outbreak that has killed at least 4,877 people, mainly in West Africa, and infected two Texas healthcare workers since arriving on U.S. soil last month...

 

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Re: U.S. security agency ill-prepared to deal with pandemic -audit

Source: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...is-in-new-york-city-particularly-distressing/

DHS faulted for expired, questionable pandemic response supplies at Ebola hearing
Published October 24, 2014
FoxNews.com

The chief Homeland Security watchdog ripped the department at a hearing on Friday for not "thinking through" its purchase of millions of dollars' worth of pandemic response supplies, saying much of the protective gear and drugs are expired or will be soon.

Inspector General John Roth testified at a House oversight hearing on Ebola, a health crisis that has sharpened focus on the government's preparedness for an outbreak -- even though officials maintain the likelihood of an Ebola outbreak remains low. Roth, ahead of the hearing, released an August audit that found the department has "no assurance" it has enough protective equipment and antiviral medication to respond to a pandemic...