Will the US have a surplus of ventilators by June?
Wednesday, May 20, 2020
By Mikayla Campbell
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YES
As the threat of a major U.S. coronavirus outbreak grew in March, anxiety about ventilator availability rose in light of high usage of the breathing-support machines during the peak of the outbreak in northern Italy.
In April, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services ordered enough ventilators to add 6,190 ventilators to the national reserves by May 8, with another 29,510 due by June 1. The U.S. will need at most about 18,000 ventilators on that date, according to forecasts updated May 18 the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
By the end of the year, additional machines ordered by HHS will bring the U.S. supply to more than 130,000 ventilators.
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