Trump Invokes War Powers To Boost Ventilator Production As New York, Other States Face Grim Shortages

The Wall Street Journal: Trump Invokes Korean War-Era Law To Get Ventilators Built Amid Short Supply
President Trump invoked a Korean War-era law to help manufacturers secure supplies needed to make ventilators and protective face masks, as the federal stockpile of the medical devices was running dangerously low amid the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Trump used the Defense Production Act in an effort to address the surging levels of patients in particularly hard-hit metro areas such as New York, New Orleans and Detroit. The federal government has distributed roughly half of its ventilators, according to an analysis by The Wall Street Journal, and has fewer than 10,000 still in hand—as the nation is projected to need tens of thousands more in the next weeks ahead. (Levy and Leary, 4/2)

Reuters: Trump Invokes Defense Production Act For Ventilator Manufacturing
Lawmakers have clamored for Trump to invoke the act to end or at least reduce the country’s yawning shortage of ventilators. Because the fast-spreading coronavirus is a respiratory disease, the need for ventilators is multiplying by the hundreds each day. On Thursday Johns Hopkins University said more than 1 million people around the world currently have the coronavirus. State officials and health experts said the United States will ultimately need tens of thousands of additional ventilators. (4/2)

Politico: Days After Ventilator DPA Order, White House Has Done Little To Push GM
President Donald Trump invoked sweeping war powers last week to demand that General Motors start producing ventilators, but so far his administration has done little to enforce the order. The president's top trade official, Peter Navarro, told POLITICO the administration has not been able to verify whether GM has made any progress since the Defense Production Act was invoked, raising questions about whether the full powers of the federal government are being used to urgently produce ventilators. (Bade and Cassella, 4/2)

The Associated Press: States Demand Ventilators As Feds Ration Limited Supply
Two weeks ago, the Pentagon promised to make as many as 2,000 military ventilators available as the federal government strains to contend with the coronavirus pandemic. As of Wednesday, less than half had been allocated, despite a desperate need across the country. At the Federal Emergency Management Agency, tasked with coordinating the federal response to the outbreak, about 9,000 additional ventilators are also on hold as officials seek to determine where they are needed most urgently. (Alonso-Zaldivar, Burns and Fox, 4/3)

Politico: FEMA Tells Lawmakers Most New Ventilators Won't Be Ready Until June
Most of the 100,000 ventilators that President Donald Trump promised the U.S. would obtain won't be available until June, Federal Emergency Management Agency officials told the House Oversight Committee this week. FEMA officials, according to a readout of a pair of briefings by the panel's Democrats, indicated that a shortage of ventilators would worsen by the middle of this month before the coronavirus outbreak peaks. (Cheney, 4/2)

The Washington Post: Federal Government Gave D.C. A Fraction Of What It Sought To Fight Coronavirus
Washington-area leaders slammed the Trump administration Thursday over significant shortfalls in the number of hospital ventilators, respirator masks, gloves and other supplies delivered from a national stockpile to help combat the fast-spreading novel coronavirus. Virginia, Maryland and the District received just a fraction of the equipment they requested from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, with the District getting zero hospital ventilators and Maryland getting none of the nasal swabs used for testing, according to documents released Thursday by the House oversight committee. (Olivo, Portnoy and Nirappil, 4/2)

CNN: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo Says Coronavirus Spreading Across US Like 'Slow-Moving Hurricane' 
With more than 6,000 deaths from coronavirus, US health officials and state leaders across the country are urging for a stronger response to the outbreak. In New York, where 2,468 people have died from the virus, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said the state has about six days left before it runs out of ventilators. "It's like watching a slow-moving hurricane across the country, where you know the path that it's taking. Why not deploy the national resources and just stay ahead of the hurricane?" he said Thursday. (Maxouris, 4/3)

Politico: New York Hospitals Rationing Ventilators, Retrofitting Equipment Amid Crush Of Coronavirus
Hospitals and physicians are making difficult choices to contend with an almost certain shortage of ventilators in the coming days, as the coronavirus rapidly spreads throughout the state. Emergency physicians are already being told to use their judgment in deciding who should be hooked up to a ventilator as stockpiles of the essential equipment dwindle. And hospitals are converting machines typically used to treat sleep apnea as bidding wars and supply constraints make it nearly impossible to acquire enough ventilators and protective equipment ahead of the projected apex of cases in New York. (Muoio and Eisenberg, 4/2)

The Wall Street Journal: New York Gets Creative In Search For Ventilators
New York state will finance companies willing to manufacture ventilators and other needed medical supplies, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said, as reported cases of the coronavirus continued to grow. The state has enough ventilators in its stockpile for the next six days at hospitals’ current rate of use, Mr. Cuomo said Thursday. At least 400 ventilators were sent Wednesday night to New York City public hospitals. “We’re not asking for a favor from these businesses,” the governor said at a press conference. Companies and manufacturers who need financial help to convert factories for such work can get help from the state’s economic development agency, he said. (Honan and DeAvila, 4/2)

NPR: Preparing Hospitals For Ventilator Shortages
The survival rate for COVID-19 patients on ventilators may be as low as 20%, though the machines' effectiveness for those patients is still being studied. "At the current burn rate, we have about six days of ventilators in our stockpile," Cuomo said on Thursday. If there are not enough ventilators to provide one for every patient who might benefit, hospitals in New York would need to begin making excruciating decisions about who will receive what care. (Kaste and Hersher, 4/3)

NPR: Majority Of Coronavirus Patients Put On Ventilators Don't Survive
Most coronavirus patients who end up on ventilators go on to die, according to several small studies from the U.S., China and Europe. And many of the patients who continue to live can't be taken off the mechanical breathing machines. "It's very concerning to see how many patients who require ventilation do not make it out of the hospital," says Dr. Tiffany Osborn, a critical care specialist at Washington University in St. Louis who has been caring for coronavirus patients at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. (Hamilton, 4/2)

Detroit Free Press: Tracking Michigan's Available Hospital Beds, Ventilators Amid COVID-19
As the number of Michigan residents with COVID-19 infections continues to rise, hospitals are bracing for shortages in staffing and beds, as well as crucial medical supplies like personal protective equipment (PPE) and ventilators.  "Given the trajectory of COVID-19 in the state. We will likely need additional facilities," the state's chief medical executive Dr. Joneigh Khaldun said on Thursday. "We will also need additional medical professionals, doctors, nurses, respiratory therapists, physician assistants and others to staff them." (Tanner, 4/2)