There is a shortage of ventilators globally and many countries are working round the clock to provide these machines during this COVID-19 pandemic period.
A ventilator is a machine designed to provide mechanical ventilation by moving breathable air into and out of the lungs, to deliver breaths to a patient who is physically unable to breathe, or breathing insufficiently.
It takes over the body’s breathing process when a disease has caused the lungs to fail. So the ventilator gives a patient time to fight off the infection and recover.
With the COVID-19 virus affecting the respiratory system and causing damage to the lungs, some people find it difficult to breathe hence they need assistance from the use of ventilators.
According to Dr. Albert Rizzo, chief medical officer at the American Lung Association in the US, “The coronavirus is a disease that people are dying of because of respiratory illness. They’re not dying because their heart fails. They’re not dying of shock,” “They’re dying because they just can’t get oxygen to their bloodstream, and that makes other organs fail, as well.”
Now any hospitals and nations have been experiencing shortages of ventilators with the increase of coronavirus patients in the hospital.
The NHS in the UK say that there are just 8,175 ventilators in the country and the government believes up to 30,000 could be needed at the peak of the pandemic – and has placed an order for 10,000 newly-designed machines from technology firm Dyson.
This issue caused a major tiff between US President Trump and Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York when he said that his state needs 30,000 ventilators to respond to the escalating coronavirus crisis. The President countered saying “I don’t believe you need 40,000 or 30,000 ventilators. You go into major hospitals sometimes, and they’ll have two ventilators. And now all of a sudden they’re saying, ‘Can we order 30,000 ventilators?’”
The New York Times reports that there are about 160,000 ventilators in the United States and another 12,700 in the National Strategic Supply.
Reports out of Nigeria claim that there are less than 500 ventilators in Nigeria and this means the country is not ready to tackle the coronavirus breathing complications.
Many companies are coming to the aid of these countries by jettisoning their operations to focus on producing ventilators.
Tesla CEO Elon Musk said Wednesday that the company’s factory in Buffalo, New York will open “as soon as humanly possible” to produce ventilators that are in short supply due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Automobile producer, Ford has announced that it’s working with 3M and GE Healthcare to produce medical equipment including ventilators and protective gear.
Today, President Donald Trump signed a presidential directive ordering GM to produce ventilators. The order came amid a dispute with GM over a contract to produce the ventilators.
Dyson originally known for the production of its vacuum cleaners and hand dryers, confirmed that they have received an order of 10,000 from the UK government.
He said the company had designed and built an entirely new ventilator, called the “CoVent,” since he received a call 10 days ago from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.”This new device can be manufactured quickly, efficiently and at volume,” Dyson added, saying that the new ventilator has been designed to “address the specific needs” of coronavirus patients.
A second UK firm, Gtech, is also working to produce ventilators and has submitted two examples to the government for assessment. The company specializes in cordless vacuum cleaners and garden power tools.
It is hoped that many firms would rise up to produce these much needed equipment to assist in managing the coronavirus patients as soon as possible.
