'The prospect of an H5N1 pandemic has been a source of concern ever since the virus was isolated from humans in Hong Kong in 1997. In response, the U.S. government began developing pandemic-preparedness plans. A series of reports from the Institute of Medicine (now the National Academy of Medicine) and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has emphasized the need for the stockpiling of personal protective equipment, resilient supply chains, and greater coordination between agencies and various levels of government. Yet despite these plans and warnings, and despite being ranked the most prepared among 195 countries to handle a pandemic on the Global Health Security Index in 2019, when Covid-19 arrived, the United States fared terribly by most measures'
