Homeland Security botched pandemic preparedness - U.S. report

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Department of Homeland Security failed to assess the supplies it needed to deal with a potential pandemic and now has expired stockpiles including medications, 200,000 respirators and 4,184 bottles of hand sanitisers, an inspector general report showed.

The department bought 16 million surgical masks and 350,000 white coverall suits without establishing the need for them, according to its inspector general's report, which included photographs of stacks of unopened boxes piled high in a storeroom.