Vermont is beginning to figure out what to do with the extra medical supplies it ordered during the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and health experts are challenged with ensuring the state has an ample supply for future outbreaks while also making sure the supplies don't expire, VTDigger, a local news outlet based in Montpelier, Vt., reported.
State health workers are planning to take inventory this summer of the state's three emergency countermeasures warehouses, Erica Bornemann, director of Vermont Emergency Management told the publication.
Before the pandemic, the state's emergency preparedness supplies took up about 11,000 square feet. Now, the stockpiles of personal protective equipment, masks, hand sanitizer and other supplies take up 30,000 square feet.
"We want to leverage the investments that have been made during the COVID pandemic and make sure we don’t lose that investment going forward," Public Safety Commissioner Mike Schirling told VTDigger. "It doesn't make sense to offload [the supplies] and buy them again."
But some supplies, such as ventilators, are harder to stockpile. Ventilators require maintenance and use. Mr. Schirling told the publication the state is considering giving hospitals the state's leftover ventilators, with a stipulation that the hospitals keep their current stock as a reserve for emergencies.
The state is also considering allowing hospitals to rotate out equipment in the warehouse so the supplies don't expire, VTDigger reported. Hospitals would buy their own gloves, goggles and other supplies and trade out the new purchases for the state's gear.
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