The reserves of the state

• There will be no food shortage in Estonia. Retail traders, wholesalers, producers and the state all have reserves. Each household should keep a reasonable reserve of foods but there is no point in buying up larger quantities.
• The level of Estonian food stocks can be considered good. At any given moment in time, the storages of our food producers and commercial operators contain an estimated 30-40 average consumption days’ worth of ready-made goods in all major product groups. Additionally, most Estonian families have several days’ food stocks ready at home as well.
• The state’s ready meal stockpile has been compiled with the estimation that it would be sufficient to feed 10 percent of Estonia’s population for one month (1800 kcal per person per day) in case of an emergency situation or a large-scale evacuation. The state’s stockpile of ready meals is meant to be taken into use as a last resort, when other means of feeding the people have been exhausted. The decision on utilising the stockpile is taken by the Government of the Republic.

More information can be found on the web page of the Estonian Stockpiling Agency: https://www.espa.ee/en

The healthcare reserves are divided into several separate types of stockpiles, and they are managed by several different organisations in Estonia. The Health Board, for instance, oversees the vaccine stockpile and is managing the stocks of medicines used in hospitals.

• The state’s stockpile of pharmaceuticals contains one month’s stocks of the 200 most used over-the-counter and prescription medicines.
• Keep in mind! The State Agency of Medicines recommends keeping at least one month’s stocks of the prescription medicines prescribed to the family in the medicine cabinet at home. Additionally, the home should have the antipyretics and painkillers, allergy medicines, indigestion medicines, cold medicines and first aid remedies, including for treating burns, in amounts sufficient to cover the household’s needs for a week.

• The state’s personal protective equipment stockpile contains tens of millions of units of personal protective equipment, like, for instance, protective masks, respirators, gowns, suits, safety goggles or nitrile gloves. The objective of the stockpile is to hold products in the volume of one month’s crisis time peak consumption of hospitals, ambulance and social care institutions. By today, Estonia’s supply of personal protective equipment is very good.
• The state also has a strategic stockpile of veterinary medicines.