As coronavirus cases just begin to surge in the United States, the Strategic National Stockpile - a supply of life-saving equipment that the federal government maintains - is nearly out of protective gear.

And now, as hospitals buckle under the strain, the federal government is changing the definition of the stockpile's precise purpose.

That came after top White House advisor Jared Kushner said Thursday: "The notion of the federal stockpile was, it's supposed to be our stockpile," referring apparently to the federal government. "It's not supposed to be states' stockpiles that they then use."​

When Kushner spoke, though, the federal website for the stockpile noted the stockpile’s deep connection to states, reading in part: "when state, local, tribal, and territorial responders request federal assistance to support their response efforts, the stockpile ensures that the right medicines and supplies get to those who need them most during an emergency."

A day later, amid national attention to Kushner’s remarks, the website was changed abruptly. It now states its "role is to supplement state and local supplies during public health emergencies" (emphasis added). 

It adds: "Many states have products stockpiled, as well. The supplies, medicines, and devices for life-saving care contained in the stockpile can be used as a short-term stopgap buffer when the immediate supply of adequate amounts of these materials may not be immediately available."

But those supplies are frequently dwindling, too, and the pandemic is only seen as beginning to peak.

A spokesperson for the Dept. of Health and Human Services told Politico that the changes to the website preceded Kushner’s remarks.

Here's what the stockpile is, as historically intended:

Containing medical supplies like ventilators and medicine, it is actually a series of government-run warehouses in several secret locations holding equipment valued at around $8 billion. It was developed in 1999 in anticipation of Y2K.

Many states have their own stockpiles, but when those run out, they can put in a request to HHS for items from the federal stockpile.  

Now, as the federal government also runs out, officials are turning to the private market to get what they need.

Federal officials say that as of late March, more than 539 tons of cargo have been shipped to help in the coronavirus response.

Reportedly, there are major differences in what states have requested and what they have received. A Washington Post report finds Massachusetts received 17 percent of the protective gear it requested; Maine asked for 500,000 specialized N95 masks, but only received about 5 percent. 

Colorado’s received shipment of masks and other supplies would only cover a single day of operations, a congressman reportedly told the White House, the Post found.

The newspaper found that Florida asked for 430,000 surgical masks, 180,000 N95 respirators, 82,000 face shields and 238,000 gloves. The state received a shipment with everything three days later, and an identical shipment on March 23.

A spokesperson for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which took control of the stockpile recently, declined to release what states requested and what they received, the Post reported.

The spokesperson didn’t return a request for comment from Spectrum News.