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


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.
The equipment was requested by local and state health officials, NBC News reports, and when asked about the ventilators being sent to Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) said he would "have to check to see if that's true or not. I would honestly doubt that that's true, but I'll look." Despite the rising number of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, DeSantis will not reverse his bans on mask and vaccination mandates.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
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.
-
The lesser-known Elsinore fault is a risk to California
The explainer A powerful earthquake could be on the horizon
By Devika Rao, The Week US
-
'This is not an unusual story'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US
-
Scientists find hint of alien life on distant world
Speed Read NASA's James Webb Space Telescope has detected a possible signature of life on planet K2-18b
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Measles outbreak spreads, as does RFK Jr.'s influence
Speed Read The outbreak centered in Texas has grown to at least three states and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is promoting unproven treatments
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Five years on: How Covid changed everything
Feature We seem to have collectively forgotten Covid’s horrors, but they have completely reshaped politics
By The Week US
-
RFK Jr. offers alternative remedies as measles spreads
Speed Read Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. makes unsupported claims about containing the spread as vaccine skepticism grows
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Texas outbreak brings 1st US measles death since 2015
Speed read The outbreak is concentrated in a 'close-knit, undervaccinated' Mennonite community in rural Gaines County
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US
-
Mystery illness spreading in Congo rapidly kills dozens
Speed Read The World Health Organization said 53 people have died in an outbreak that originated in a village where three children ate a bat carcass
By Peter Weber, The Week US
-
Ozempic can curb alcohol cravings, study finds
Speed read Weight loss drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy may also be helpful in limiting alcohol consumption
By Peter Weber, The Week US