“I’m very disappointed in the degree to which we’ve prepared for a pandemic, both in terms of protective equipment and in terms of medical devices that would help people once they are infected,” he said.

“At this stage, I think we are substantially underinvesting in what would be appropriate for a setting which could be serious,” he added.

Romney said he hopes a dire scenario can be avoided but added “we don’t know what the future holds.”

“I think we should be pulling out all the stops,” he said.