Trump Announces Dynamic Ventilator Reserve Program

With around 60,000 ventilators in place but not in use at U.S. healthcare facilities, the Trump administration is announcing a new dynamic ventilator reserve program to help localities repurpose its resources to nearby places in urgent need.

In addition to ramping up U.S. ventilator production in the U.S., President Donald Trump's coronavirus task force has created a program with the American Hospital Association to "design a system that allows hospitals to lend ventilators to other hospitals right when they need it," Adam Boehler told reporters at Tuesday's coronavirus task force daily briefing.

Trump has announced the U.S. now has more ventilators than it needs as the country's curve is flattening for the global coronavirus pandemic, but the production of ventilators will deliver over 100,000 new, high-end ventilators to the U.S. stockpile before the end of June.

"Last year, America manufactured from a dead start 30,000 ventilators, and this year, the number will be over 150,000 ventilators," Trump told reporters Tuesday. "It could be as high as 200,000 – far more than we will ever need. So, we'll be able to stockpile. We will talk to states about stockpiling."

Trump said the new shipments expected by the end of June will be the best ventilator technology the U.S. has to offer.

"We had a choice: we could do the inexpensive, less productive ventilators or high quality; we've done a high-quality ventilator," Trump said. "So, we should have anywhere from 150-200,000 ventilators."

Even before those shipments, the U.S. still has reserves in the national stockpile, he said.

"In addition to that, we have 10,000 ventilators in the federal stockpile ready to move, should we need them," he added. "We might not. Should we need them in New York, or New Jersey, or in Louisiana, or in Illinois, or any other state that may need them, if we have a surge."

With the U.S. covered and managing potential resurgence of ventilator needs locally with the dynamic reserve program, the U.S. might even be in position to help supply the world where there might be shortages, Trump said.

"You look at what's happening in other countries, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, we are working with them and trying to help them especially ventilators," Trump said. "They've been calling a lot; they need ventilators so badly."

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