Government agencies release recommendations to shore up pharmaceutical supply chain The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain. This week, the federal government released a series of policy recommendations to address those problems.

"Last year, the American people experienced a widespread and significant shortage of N95 respirators for health-care workers and masks to protect essential workers and others, and year after year we see shortages of medicines and medical supplies like saline," FDA Acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock said. "Pharmaceutical supply chains are essential for the national and health security and economic prosperity of the United States, yet the COVID-19 pandemic revealed just how vulnerable the supply chain is in this country. Now is the right time to take action to keep the U.S. drug supply chain secure and resilient."