Having acquired more ventilators than currently needed for COVID-19 patients, the U.S. government is canceling orders to manufacture them, reports the Associated Press.
The Trump administration is canceling some of its remaining orders for ventilators after having rushed to sign nearly $3 billion in emergency contracts as the COVID-19 pandemic surged in the spring.
The Department of Health and Human Services issued a statement Tuesday affirming that the national stockpile has now reached its maximum capacity for the life-saving breathing machines, with nearly 120,000 available for deployment to state and local health officials if needed. Though the orders were billed as a cost-saving measure, Democrats said the cancellations showed that the White House vastly overspent in its quest to fulfill President Trump’s pledge to make the U.S. the “king of ventilators.”
Read the full article from the Associated Press.