Hardly a month has passed since we were being told the ventilator stock of a state was the only hope to survive the yellow peril, covid-19. It drove me crazy seeing this in extremis measure being treated as the foundation for public health. There were umpteen different models.being patched together from other technologies, high and low tech. Worldwide, few places are equipped to use ventilators well and trained staff is in short supply. Breathing has to be suppressed, a hazardous move, to allow the ventilators to function better. Worse yet, ventilators were killing some people.
Bonnie Glick, Deputy Administrator for USAID comments near the 28 minute mark of this American Thought Leaders Video: We help supply ventilators but only to countries with hospitals and staff that can use them. More important is shipping oxygen. Even poor countries have ways of supplying oxygen. The bonus oxygen doesn't require suppression of autonomic breathing or the use of forced air. "We know that oxygen will save even more lives than ventilators".
As the saying goes, "I'm not a doctor but I play one on TV". The expert communicated by video and some of that intelligence was picked up here.
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