News Room

We’ve all heard the stories, and some of us are living them. People have lost their jobs, local businesses are worried about paying staff and staying solvent. Restaurants are closing, some temporarily and some for good. People are sick, and people have died. As the COVID-19 crisis continues in the District, the question everyone is asking is: when do we turn a corner? And, who will be at the rudder?

The COVID-19 crisis has painfully highlighted the shortcomings of an almost absolute reliance on face-to-face medicine.

The expected shortage of mechanical ventilators needed to meet the demand from severely ill COVID-19 patients in the United States has prompted the federal government to lean on private industry to dramatically increase the supply. But ramping up production of complex medical equipment in manufacturing facilities configured for other products will take time that many patient­s don’t have. Research from Chicago Booth’s Dan Adelman suggests there may be another way to make up a portion of any shortfall in ventilator availability: share them between states.