These things expire you know, for latex gloves it's only 3 years.

Stockpiles of masks and gloves where maintained in Canada, and I believe the US after SARS.

But a year before COVID, these warehouses were shut down, as the stockpiles were old, and needed a refresh, and politicians didnt see the need to spend tens of millions on new stockpiles.

The has happened several times over the last 100 years.