The biggest problem the United States faces right now is the lack of resources in hospitals. Because of a late response to the coronavirus, hospitals across the nation are now devastated from a lack of supplies. Some of the most crucial pieces of equipment in very short supply, especially PPE (which stands for personal protective equipment). From masks to gloves to ventilators, the United States was not prepared to combat the coronavirus and as a result, consequences are being faced.
I know how short the supply is firsthand because both of my parents work for hospitals dealing with coronavirus patients. My mom, who is a physician assistant, is checking patients admitted for the coronavirus and she told me how undersupplied the hospital is right now. Doctors, instead of getting new masks from patient room to patient room, are now having to carry around masks in a brown bag all day since there are not that many left. Simple items we take for granted such as hand sanitizers are nowhere to be seen. Hospital staff is cleaning and desensitizing 24/7 but it is almost impossible to prevent exposure. Even with all of these precautions, hospitals simply do not have the resources to maintain a high level of care. If hospital staff starts to get sick because of the lack of masks or etc., not only will hospitals have to admit more patients but they will be heavily understaffed. As of now, the number of patients in hospitals in places like Michigan have been manageable, but a huge surge of people getting worse could happen any minute. People who are sick but are not having serious symptoms are not being advised to go to the hospital right now but what if all of these people get worse? If one of the biggest and wealthiest states in the United States, New York, is having immense trouble dealing with patients, what makes other states such as Michigan prepared for what is coming ahead?
Additionally, the most important piece of equipment when combatting this virus, the ventilator, is in extremely short stock. Typically, ventilators are designed for only one person to use but doctors are being forced to connect attachments so four patients can use them at once. Because of this huge allocation in resources, hospitals are being forced to close down important wings, such as surgical wings, because elective operations are no longer allowed. Not only does this hurt the money inflow to the hospital but it is also hurting thousands of patients who now have to reschedule their elective operation appointments for later. If hospitals are not aided and the federal government does not give the appropriate amount of funds, many healthcare workers will be laid off and unemployed. Additionally, many hospitals will have to shut down which will hurt many Americans.
Thus, the federal government needs to take immediate action to alleviate the stress put on hospitals. Right now, individual states are betting on important supplies for their own states which is completely ridiculous. The Federal Government should use their powers under the Defense Production Act more strictly to force big companies to start mass producing supplies that are needed to a point where states will not have to bid against each other. I understand that President Trump does not want to hurt big businesses but he declared war against this virus, and as said by the New York Governor, in war, you make the necessary moves to protect your people. It is outrageous for the federal government to tell states to get their individual supplies when this is a nationwide problem. Furthermore, in the coronavirus relief package, the government must include funds to hospitals if they want to keep them running. However, I would like to acknowledge how the US was able to respond to the lack of testing and pump out more tests at a quick rate (although by that point, it was too late and the virus had spread).
Furthermore, more care should be put in place into cities and states considered hot zones. The best way to spread the virus from spreading is to control these spots. Instead of talking about when they will reopen the United States and heal the economy, the federal government should be more concerned about how they will deal with being the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic and how to save lives. The Lt. Governor of Texas recently said that he asked several senior citizens and they said that “‘as a senior citizen, are you willing to take a chance on your survival in exchange for keeping the America that all America loves for your children and grandchildren? And if that’s the exchange, I’m all in.’” These comments are just ridiculous and very ignorant. This same ignorance is the reason why the coronavirus is becoming so prevalent in the United States. Not only did he have no facts whatsoever to prove this, but the fact people are even thinking about people dying for the economy is disgusting. People do not have a price tag.
Hopefully, companies can pump out crucial supplies fast enough. It might not seem that the pandemic in the United States is that bad right now but it can get much worse at any time and the USA needs to be prepared for when that happens. In 64 days, the world had 100,000 cases. It only took 11 more days to reach 200,000. After that, it only took 4 days to reach 300,000. A similar trend will be seen in the USA and we all need to be ready. I salute everyone that is on the frontlines fighting this virus and risking their lives. They are putting the health of other people over their own health and they deserve better. As the governor of New York said, people’s lives should not have a price tag.
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