April 6, 2020
By John Myers
Sacramento - Recognizing that states like New York (click here) are experiencing immediate supply shortages as a result of coronavirus, Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that California would help meet this moment by loaning 500 state-owned ventilators to the strategic National Stockpile Inventory.
“California is stepping up to help our fellow Americans in New York and across the country who are being impacted the hardest right now by the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Newsom. “We still have a long road ahead of us in the Golden State – and we’re aggressively preparing for a surge – but we can’t turn our back on Americans whose lives depend on having a ventilator now. We’re meeting this moment with compassion. I know that if the tables were turned and we were experiencing a hospital surge, other states would come to our aid and provide ventilators just as we are today.”
California continues to prepare for a possible COVID-19 surge. The state is securing thousands of beds in alternative care facilities, protecting the homeless, purchasing critical medical equipment and launching new programs like the Health Corps to recruit healthcare professionals.
California is bracing for another spike in coronavirus deaths this week, with the total number of confirmed cases topping 15,000....
Then why are federal officials confiscating essential supplies?
April 6, 2020
By Zolan Kanno-Young and Jack Nicas
Washington - In Massachusetts, (click here) state leaders said they had confirmed a vast order of personal protective equipment for their health workers; then the Trump administration took control of the shipments.
In Kentucky, the head of a hospital system told members of Congress that his broker had pulled out of an agreement to deliver four shipments of desperately needed medical gear after the supplies were commandeered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Gov. Jared Polis of Colorado thought his state had secured 500 ventilators before they were “swept up by FEMA.”
For weeks, the Trump administration pushed states to procure their own ventilators and protective gear, like masks, gloves and face shields. But a new effort by the administration to create a hybrid system of distribution — divided between the federal government, local officials and private health care companies — has led to new confusion, bordering on disarray, and charges of confiscation....
