As the number of patients positive for COVID-19 continues to increase exponentially, so does the need for medical equipment. As more and more hospitals are being converted to COVID only facilities, the fear that they don't have sufficient equipment to accommodate every patient with what they need to survive is becoming a harsh reality. This was fear solidified with President Trump's stating that "there could be a shortage of ventilators available to Americans as this pandemic continues" to spread on April 4th 2020. These machines could be the difference between life and death for many patients if only there were enough to go around. To put some numbers into perspective; 17,000 ventilators were ordered this past weekend solely for the state of New York which far exceeds the 10,000 that is currently in the federal stockpile. If no action is taken then we may may meet the same fate as Italy where the shortage of ventilators became an every day nightmare. The New York Times article that I listed below discusses how the ventilator crisis is rooted and can be solved by tackling three main problems:ventilator production, distribution and operation.Â
https://www.cnn.com/2020/04/04/politics/ventilators-trump-briefing-coronavirus/index.html (Links to an external site.)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/22/opinion/health/ventilator-shortage-coronavirus-solution.html (Links to an external site.)
- By: Laura Palacio Morales