How to distribute scarce medical supplies in a pandemic, and do it fairly

In the spring of 2020, with global supply chains for medical equipment crumbling under the stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, states turned to the federal government for help. Since 1998, the United States has maintained the Strategic National Stockpile, a cache of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies intended for emergency use. The stockpile held ventilators, N95 masks, gloves, and gowns—the very things states desperately needed.