Medical Countermeasures
The Strategic National Stockpile
The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) was established by former President Bill Clinton in 1999. Each continental US citizen is located within 12 hours of a stockpile. The cache contains an inventory of supplies and pharmaceuticals can be used during any natural or manmade disaster or infectious disease outbreak. The first activation of the SNS was during the 9/11 and anthrax attacks. The most common activation need over the years has been for natural disasters, such as hurricanes. However, the SNS has also been activated to manage pandemic response, including H1N1, Ebola, Zika, and COVID viruses. Although separate, the SNS base operations plan is a part of our District Emergency Operations Plan. The SNS plan coordinates the request, receipt, organization, deployment and distribution of emergency supplies from the federal government, through the state, for local public health district distribution.