Daily Beast: 9 (Kinda) Hilarious Lessons From My 99 Days on a COVID Ventilator. “Let’s rewind the tape to when this grease fire of a year kicked off. It was late February, and I was a 31-year-old comedian struggling to pay rent on my shoebox Manhattan apartment. While visiting my parents in Massachusetts, I developed flu-like symptoms and ended up testing positive for COVID-19. Despite having no pre-existing conditions, I landed in the ICU on a ventilator before being airlifted to a second hospital for a 99-day catnap powered by modern medicine. As it turns out, a person like me can learn a lot from almost dying.”
ventilators
ProPublica: The Trump Administration Is Backing Out of a $647 Million Ventilator Deal After ProPublica Investigated the Price
ProPublica: The Trump Administration Is Backing Out of a $647 Million Ventilator Deal After ProPublica Investigated the Price. “The government overpaid by hundreds of millions for Philips ventilators, says a House investigation spurred by ProPublica reporting. Now that deal is off and Congress is scrutinizing other coronavirus deals made by trade adviser Peter Navarro.”
Business Insider: Jared Kushner made a deal with Russia for ventilators during the COVID-19 crisis, but every single machine was faulty, report says
Business Insider: Jared Kushner made a deal with Russia for ventilators during the COVID-19 crisis, but every single machine was faulty, report says. “Jared Kushner brokered a deal with Russia for 45 ventilators to be brought to the US to help with the coronavirus crisis, but they all turned out to be faulty, a new report says. Two senior Trump administration officials told The Daily Beast that Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and one of his senior advisers, helped to secure an equipment order that included the ventilators.”
Washington Post: The U.S. forced major manufacturers to build ventilators. Now they’re piling up unused in a strategic reserve.
Washington Post: The U.S. forced major manufacturers to build ventilators. Now they’re piling up unused in a strategic reserve.. “Months into a $3 billion U.S. effort to manufacture tens of thousands of ventilators to stave off coronavirus deaths, the government stockpile is facing a glut. General Motors and Ford by early May began delivering the first ventilators they scrambled to manufacture, in part compelled by President Trump’s invocation of the federal Defense Production Act. General Electric, Philips and other manufacturers’ efforts have delivered more than 94,000 of them to the stockpile, and General Motors plans to soon hand over its business to a counterpart.”
The Hill: House Democrats find Trump officials overpaid for ventilators by as much as $500 million
The Hill: House Democrats find Trump officials overpaid for ventilators by as much as $500 million. “A report from Democrats on the House Oversight and Reform Committee released Friday finds that the Trump administration overpaid by as much as $500 million for ventilators and was slow to respond to an offer to accelerate shipments in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak. The report finds that the Trump administration paid the manufacturer Philips $15,000 per ventilator, more than any other American purchaser. Some purchasers buying as few as just one ventilator negotiated prices down to as low as $9,327 per ventilator, the report said.”
University of Alabama at Birmingham: How a ventilator works. And why you don’t want to need one.
University of Alabama at Birmingham: How a ventilator works. And why you don’t want to need one.. “‘First, we insert a tube through your mouth or nose directly into your trachea. This tube allows the machine to push air into your lungs and forces you to inhale. You can’t swallow, speak or cough. You might be sedated, if you are lucky. But you won’t be sedated the whole time.’ Those words come from Jerry King, RRT, an assistant professor in the School of Health Professions, at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. He teaches students at UAB how to use a ventilator.”
ProPublica: Trump Is Donating Ventilators to Countries That Don’t Need or Can’t Use Them
ProPublica: Trump Is Donating Ventilators to Countries That Don’t Need or Can’t Use Them. “Nearly 8,000 ventilators are destined for foreign countries as part of Trump’s plan to make the U.S. ‘king of ventilators.’ But public health experts worry the machines are crowding out more urgently needed aid.”
Radio Prague International: Czech Firm Switches From Car Production To Helping Make Ventilators For US
Radio Prague International: Czech Firm Switches From Car Production To Helping Make Ventilators For Us. “Czech carmakers and associated industries have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic. Faced with this challenge, one family-run firm is now drawing on its expertise to fight Covid-19 itself, helping the production of much-needed ventilators in the US.”
FactCheck .org: Trump Inherited More Ventilators Than Have Been Distributed
FactCheck .org: Trump Inherited More Ventilators Than Have Been Distributed. “Contrary to President Donald Trump’s repeated claims that he inherited a Strategic National Stockpile with ’empty’ or ‘bare’ cupboards, the federal government had more ventilators in stock than it ended up distributing amid the COVID-19 pandemic, FactCheck.org has learned. The SNS had 16,660 ventilators ‘immediately available for use’ when the federal government began deploying the breathing machines to states to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in March, according to a Department of Health and Human Services spokesperson.”
Washington Post: Blue Flame Medical asks Maryland to restore its contract for covid-19 equipment
Washington Post: Blue Flame Medical asks Maryland to restore its contract for covid-19 equipment. “Blue Flame Medical, the supply company started this spring by two Republican consultants, has asked the state of Maryland to restore a canceled $12.5 million contract with the firm to provide equipment used in the fight against coronavirus. The contract was canceled by Maryland officials earlier this month who said Blue Flame failed to deliver medical masks and ventilators on time. The firm’s lawyer, Douglas Gansler, a former Maryland attorney general, said Thursday that Maryland officials made a mistake.”
CNET: Amid COVID-19, iFixit releases repair database for ventilators
CNET: Amid COVID-19, iFixit releases repair database for ventilators. “iFixit, the website known for tearing apart devices and making tech repair guides, has released an extensive online repair resource for medical professionals. It hopes the guide will help keep hospital equipment working throughout the coronavirus pandemic, CEO Kyle Wiens said Tuesday.”
EurekAlert: New device could reduce COVID-19 infection risk and demand for invasive ventilators
EurekAlert: New device could reduce COVID-19 infection risk and demand for invasive ventilators. “Led by Lawson Health Research Institute, London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC), University Health Network (UHN) and General Dynamics Land Systems-Canada (GDLS-Canada), researchers have designed a non-invasive ventilation mask that could significantly reduce aerosolization – the production of airborne respiratory droplets that may contain viruses or bacteria – when treating patients with COVID-19. The new device aims to reduce infection risks associated with non-invasive ventilation and lessen the demand for invasive ventilators. It is currently being tested through a clinical trial with patients at LHSC.”
Digital Trends: Fitbit is looking to make ventilators for COVID-19 patients
Digital Trends: Fitbit is looking to make ventilators for COVID-19 patients. “Wearable device maker Fitbit is looking to join the list of companies that are making ventilators to be used on people infected with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus.”
BuzzFeed News: Russia Sold The US A Bunch Of Ventilators That Never Got Used. The Same Model Just Burst Into Flames And Killed Six People In Russia.
BuzzFeed News: Russia Sold The US A Bunch Of Ventilators That Never Got Used. The Same Model Just Burst Into Flames And Killed Six People In Russia.. “They were delivered in crates stamped ‘from Russia, with love.’ But dozens of ventilators sent from Moscow to New York and New Jersey to help their hospitals respond to the coronavirus outbreak have gone unused — and will now be handed over to federal authorities.”
Coronavirus: Ventilator fire blamed for Russia Covid-19 deaths (BBC)
BBC: Coronavirus: Ventilator fire blamed for Russia Covid-19 deaths. “A fire at a St Petersburg hospital has killed five coronavirus patients in an intensive care unit. The blaze was apparently started by a short-circuit in a ventilator, Russian news agencies reported. The fire was quickly put out and 150 people were evacuated from the hospital, the country’s emergency ministry said. It is not clear how many people have been injured.”