The United States has about a fifth of the ventilators it's likely to need to treat COVID-19 patients during the pandemic. But the reasons behind the nationwide shortage are complicated and can't be solved overnight.
The stockpile has around 12,700 ventilators. The US Government has refurbished a further 4,000.
The ventilator stockpile shortfall was first identified 13 years ago when public health officials warned it was the medical system's key vulnerability. But they are expensive and bulky, making them difficult to transport. A small Californian-based company won the tender, which promised to build the machines for about $4,700 each but the company was then bought out by a multi-billion-dollar firm.
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