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.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

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
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.