# Are We OK with PPE & Ventilators Now? **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [July 24, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228 "2020-07-24T16:00:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/1 "2020-07-24T16:00:15Z")
We had a couple of weeks of respite, with declining death if not infection rates. That seems to be over now. Have we used our time wisely? Is the US now in better shape for PPE and ventilators? ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/2 "2020-07-24T16:47:28Z")
In the US? Of course we didn’t use our time wisely and build up stockpiles. There are bunches of articles from July about the on-going ppe shortages. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/3 "2020-07-24T18:39:14Z")
I think w.r.t. ventilators, doctors have become better in devising non-ventilator treatments, as well as using them better when they do need to use one. Basically fewer patients are needing them, so we aren’t hearing about shortages like we did a few months ago. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [July 25, 2020, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/4 "2020-07-25T02:42:37Z")
Thank you, **Bump.** ---
**Author:** ![PoppaSan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/poppasan/32/189_2.png) [@PoppaSan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PoppaSan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/5 "2020-07-26T14:32:11Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think w.r.t. ventilators, doctors have become better in devising non-ventilator treatments, as well as using them better when they do need to use one. Basically fewer patients are needing them, so we aren’t hearing about shortages like we did a few months ago. There was never a ventilator shortage, [just a fear of one](https://www.nationalreview.com/2020/04/coronavirus-crisis-ventilator-shortages-have-not-come-to-pass/). (granted it’s from April) > Blockquote > In the state that (as of today) has one-third of the country’s confirmed COVID-19 cases, New York governor Andrew Cuomo sounded the alarm for ventilators repeatedly. On March 27, he acknowledged “I don’t have a crystal ball” but said his state desperately needed 30,000 ventilators, maybe 40,000, but had only 12,000. When President Trump noted that Cuomo’s state had thousands of unused ventilators it hadn’t even placed yet, Cuomo admitted this was true but said he still needed more: “Yes, they’re in a stockpile because that’s where they’re supposed to be because we don’t need them yet. We need them for the apex,” Cuomo said at the time. On April 2, Cuomo predicted the state would run out of ventilators in six days “at the current burn rate.” But on April 6, Cuomo noted, “We’re ok, and we have some in reserve.” and > Blockquote > However, New Jersey, with 8,011 total hospitalizations as of April 16, also [has more ventilators](https://covid19.nj.gov/#live-updates) than it is currently using and also may have passed its apex; as of April 16, the fewest New Jerseyans were on ventilators since April 8. So far, the peak was April 14, when 1705 patients were on ventilators. Yet before Cuomo’s announcement, New Jersey reported that 46 percent of its ventilators were still available. Masks, gowns, gloves I haven’t a clue on. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/6 "2020-07-26T14:58:57Z")
> [@PoppaSan](#): > > Masks, gowns, gloves I haven’t a clue on. July 8: [Grave Shortages of Protective Gear Flare Again as Covid Cases Surge](https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/08/health/coronavirus-masks-ppe-doc.html) July 13: [American Healthcare Workers are Scrambling for PPE. Again](https://ohsonline.com/articles/2020/07/13/american-healthcare-workers-are-scrambling-for-ppe-again.aspx?admgarea=ht.DisasterPreparedness). July 14: [Delayed use of Defense Production Act leads to ongoing shortages of protective gear](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/delayed-use-of-defense-production-act-leads-to-ongoing-shortages-of-protective-gear/ar-BB16HtUt) July 16: [Why We May Run into PPE Shortages Again](https://www.healthline.com/health-news/why-we-may-run-into-ppe-shortages-again) July 22: [FEMA head says coronavirus hot spots may face PPE shortages, U.S. isn’t ‘out of the woods’](https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/22/fema-head-says-coronavirus-hotspots-may-face-ppe-shortages.html) Another thing that concerns me is that I’ve only seen a couple of articles [like this](https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/hybrid-scheduling-ppe-and-potential-staff-shortages-what-to-expect-when-hunterdon-county-schools-reopen-this-fall/ar-BB174xTy) one that note that opening schools is going to increase the demand on PPE significantly too. ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/7 "2020-07-26T15:14:08Z")
So a scan of the headlines tells me that there may be a shortage. Ok. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/8 "2020-07-26T15:24:15Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > So a scan of the headlines tells me that there may be a shortage. Ok.  Scan better. Or, you know, read the articles. 3 say there are shortages. 2 say there will continue to be shortages. . ---
**Author:** ![RealityCheck71](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitycheck71/32/3493_2.png) [@RealityCheck71](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityCheck71)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/9 "2020-07-26T15:28:50Z")
Nope. Two do. Scrambling is colorful but not equivalent to shortage. Don’t impugn my scanning abilities, novice. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2020, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-we-ok-with-ppe-ventilators-now/916228/10 "2020-07-27T00:50:37Z")
> [@RealityCheck71](#): > > Scrambling is colorful but not equivalent to shortage. Don’t impugn my scanning abilities, novice. > **[American Healthcare Workers are Scrambling for PPE. Again. -- Occupational...](https://ohsonline.com/articles/2020/07/13/american-healthcare-workers-are-scrambling-for-ppe-again.aspx?admgarea=ht.DisasterPreparedness)** > > The coronavirus pandemic is looking a lot like it first did back in March when hospitals were at nearly full capacity, and healthcare workers were short on PPE. It is a frustrating recurrence of a situation all too familiar. > [@](#): > > **Once again, healthcare workers are encountering a shortage of masks, gowns, face shields and gloves while coronavirus cases climb and hospitals are overwhelmed with patients**. Unfortunately, this scenario is not new to the American people. > > **Nurses are reusing N95 masks for days—or even weeks. Doctors are not reopening offices because of a lack of PPE. State and federal officials say they are working as quickly as possible to fill shortages**. Experts worry that the problem is only going to get worse. Scrambling because of shortages.