As COVID-19 hospitalizations rise, federal government sends hundreds of ventilators to Florida

Health care workers in Florida.
(Image credit: Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images)

Hundreds of ventilators from the federal government's Strategic National Stockpile have been sent to Florida, as the state deals with a surge in COVID-19 cases.

An official with the Department of Health and Human Services told NBC News that Florida received 200 ventilators, 100 smaller breathing devices, and other related supplies. As of Tuesday, there are 14,787 COVID-19 patients hospitalized in Florida — 145 percent more than during the state's last peak in July 2020 — the Florida Hospital Association said. Almost 90 percent of intensive care unit beds and 85 percent of all patient beds are full, and public health officials say most of the hospitalized COVID-19 patients are unvaccinated.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.