There are more than 200 ventilators in the state that would be used to help treat the sickest COVID-19 patients, Vermont officials said.
The state’s asking the Federal Emergency Management Agency for 600 ventilators. No deliveries have occurred or been promised.
FEMA has asked states to advise when they see a 72-hour critical need that will outstrip state capacity. Vermont planners are monitoring for that period.
Meanwhile, the state, working with hospitals and staff, is in the process of buying 452 ventilators from eight separate supplies. About 50 have begun arriving or are in transit.
Statistics released Sunday showed that in a worst-case scenario, the state will run out of supplies of N95 masks, surgical masks, globes and body protection between April 14 and May 5.
In the best and most likely virus scenarios, the state’s supply of that equipment will be adequate.
NUMBERS
As of Sunday, more than 500 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in Vermont and 22 people have died.
For most people, the virus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, or death.
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