Health professionals warn we don't have enough ventilators to treat the projected number of COVID-19 patients. Tell the White House: Double our ventilator supply. Add Your Name:
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Anonymous,
As hospitals ready themselves to take on a large influx of COVID-19 patients, they face a shortfall of ventilators.[1]
The experts are clear: If we don't have enough ventilators to treat the projected number of COVID-19 patients and other patients who need these lifesaving machines, and unless we start ramping up supply now, it will cost people their lives.[2]
Unfortunately, the federal government is refusing to use its full authority to ramp up production, under pressure from business interests such as the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.[3]
Join us in calling on the Trump administration to immediately use its emergency powers to double the number of ventilators over the next four weeks.
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As many as 100,000 older ventilators in storage could be put into use to help save American lives, but assessing that supply and marshaling the resources to fix and deploy these machines will take a coordinated effort that only the federal government is in a position to make happen.[4]
Although the White House recently activated the Defense Production Act (DPA) and ordered General Motors to produce more ventilators, we still need to dramatically ramp up production to double our supply and ensure the federal government properly distributes critical medical supplies where they're most needed.[5,6]
President Trump told states to fend for themselves to purchase medical equipment like ventilators, masks and other protective gear. But now states are competing against each other, causing confusion and driving up prices.
We shouldn't be competing -- it's time to start coordinating.
States don't have the power the federal government has, either. Only the federal government can take the dramatic steps necessary to scale up production and coordinate a multistate effort.
We have a chance now to make sure that patients struggling to breathe get what they need to survive. That's why I need your help right now.
Already, we've successfully called on the administration to expand testing. The equipment industry is lobbying heavily against the administration taking charge, and we need the public to speak out to overcome its influence.
Tell the White House: Double our ventilator supply.
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Thank you,
Faye Park
President
1. Sarah Kliff, Adam Satariano, Jessica Silver-Greenberg and Nicholas Kulish, "There Aren't Enough Ventilators to Cope With the Coronavirus," New York Times, March 18, 2020.
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2. Suzy Khimm, "Who gets a ventilator? Hospitals facing coronavirus surge are preparing for life-or-death decisions," NBC News, March 18, 2020.
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3. Bess Levin, "Trump Won't Order Vital Coronavirus Supplies Because Corporate CEOs Asked Him Not To," Vanity Fair, March 23, 2020.
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4. Jonathan Cohn, "How To Get More Ventilators And What To Do If We Can't," Huffpost, March 17, 2020.
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5. Christina Wilkie and Michael Wayland, "Trump orders General Motors to make ventilators under Defense Production Act," CNBC, March 27, 2020.
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6. Quint Forgey, "'We're not a shipping clerk': Trump tells governors to step up efforts to get medical supplies," Politico, March 19, 2020.
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