Name: Analysis | Trump blames hospitals for mask and ventilator shortages
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Analysis | Trump blames hospitals for mask and ventilator shortages

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This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump has been focused on shifting blame for whatever becomes of the coronavirus outbreak. And on Sunday, he set about blaming hospitals and states for the to deal with the situation.During the daily White House briefing in the Rose Garden, Trump suggested that hospitals had squandered or done worse with masks and were “hoarding” ventilators, and that states were requesting equipment despite not needing it.Trump’s boldest claim was about masks. He noted that current demand wasn’t commensurate with what hospitals typically use and suggested that masks were “going out the back door.”“It’s a New York hospital, very — it’s packed all the time,” he said. “How do you go from 10 to 20 [thousand masks per week] to 300,000? Ten [thousand] to 20,000 masks, to 300,000 — even though this is different? Something is going on, and you ought to look into it as reporters. Are they going out the back door?”AdvertisementTrump added: “How do you go from 10,000 to 300,000? And we have that in a lot of different places. So somebody should probably look into that, because I just don’t see from a practical standpoint how that’s possible to go from that to that.”It wasn’t clear exactly what Trump was suggesting hospitals had done with the masks, given that demand for them has understandably increased exponentially during a global pandemic involving a respiratory disease. (Such masks aren’t needed for all patients.) New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo (D) earlier this month indicated that masks and called for an investigation, but he has indicated nothing on the scale of Trump’s remarks.Later, Trump was asked whether he was accusing hospitals of “inappropriate” use of the masks, and he said he was not.Advertisement“No,” Trump said, but then he suggested that might actually be the case. “I want the people in New York to check — Governor Cuomo, Mayor [Bill] de Blasio — that when a hospital that’s getting 10,000 masks goes to 300,000 masks during the same period — and that’s a rapid period — I would like them to check that, because I hear stories like that all the time.”Again, the need for masks has increased significantly during this period compared with others. It seemed as though Trump was suddenly suggesting that this increased need was inexplicable — as if hospitals always needed such masks in similar quantities.At another point, Trump suggested that states begging for equipment are actually “stocked up” and that certain hospitals might be “hoarding” ventilators. (States nationwide have said they also need many of these, too.)Advertisement“Frankly, many of the states are stocked up,” Trump said. “Some of them don’t admit it, but they have — we have sent just so much, so many things to them, including ventilators. You know, there’s a question as to hoarding of ventilators, some hospitals and independent hospitals and some hospital chains, as we call them — they are holding ventilators, they don’t want to let ‘em up. We need them for certain areas where there’s big problems.”Again, Trump did not substantiate his claim.He tied these claims together later in the news conference.“They’re going from, you heard it, 10,000, 20,000 tops to 300,000 [masks]? And that’s a hospital that’s always full,” he said. “So I think people should check that, because there’s something going on, whether — I don’t think it’s hoarding, I think it’s maybe worse than hoarding. But check it out. Check it out. I don’t know. I don’t know. I think that’s for other people to figure out.”AdvertisementAs The Washington Post , many states have said they have received a fraction of the medical equipment they need to deal with the pandemic. New York has received a few thousand ventilators but said it needs tens of thousands, for example. Trump said Sunday that the federal government needs to keep some in the national stockpile because “we have to hold [them] in case of emergency. We don’t want them going out.”It’s logical that the federal government and certain hospitals may not want to give up some of their ventilators knowing what could happen in coming weeks. But Trump’s claim about the masks, in particular, is extremely puzzling. Even if masks have possibly been stolen, as Cuomo indicated, Trump’s claim suggests this could be happening on a huge scale.This post has been updated.The latest: , a strategic shift that puts more of the onus on individuals, rather than on schools, businesses and other institutions, to limit viral spread.Variants: BA.5 is the most recent omicron subvariant, and it’s quickly become the dominant strain in the U.S. , and why vaccines may only offer limited protection.Vaccines: For people under 50, while the Biden administration works to roll out shots . Immunizations for became available this summer. Here’s by your prior infections and booster history.Guidance: CDC guidelines have been confusing — if you get covid, here’s . We’ve also created .Where do things stand? See the latest coronavirus numbers and . The is behind much of the recent spread.For the latest news, . CommentsGift ArticleTOP STORIESThe BriefingDon’t miss reporting and analysis from the Hill and the White House.Try a different topic or to save your preferences

This article was published more than&nbsp;2 years agoCommentGift SharePresident Trump has been focused on shifting blame for whatever becomes of the coronavirus outbreak. And on Sunday, he set about blaming hospitals and states for the to deal with the situation.During the daily White House briefing in the Rose Garden, Trump suggested that hospitals had squandered or done worse with masks and were “hoarding” ventilators, and that states were requesting equipment despite not needing it.Trump’s boldest claim was about masks. He noted that current demand wasn’t commensurate with what hospitals...

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Senior political reporter, writing for The Fix at The Washington Post. aaron.blake@washpost.com

Analysis | Trump blames hospitals for mask and ventilator shortages

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