![]() ![]() ![]() "We're lucky things weren't worse," he said. If that happens in the next pandemic, the surplus supply may be a valuable asset, McDonald suggested. Plus, even as the use of ventilators declined, the health community worried about the potential of a highlytransmissible variant that also caused severe illness. Although thousands of ventilators remain unused, the rush to manufacture the machines is an example of global collaboration during a time of need. "Without a doubt, I think (procurement) is part of any sort of readiness or preparedness infrastructure but without adequate staff it's not really useful and we need to emphasize that human resources component more and more," said Murthy, who is a also a clinical associate professor at the University of British Columbia.įrom McDonald's point of view, the surplus may still be a valuable asset. But I think we acknowledged that it was mostly space and staff that were the main limitations with the health system, rather than the stuff," he said. "We bought a lot of stuff, meaning the ventilators specifically, because that's one of the things we thought we actually needed. Srinivas Murthy, a critical care and infectious diseases specialist in Vancouver, said that while Canada pushed to procure ventilators at a time when no one knew how COVID-19 would proceed, it takes people - including doctors, nurses and respiratory therapists - to staff intensive care units where the machines are used. ![]() Public Services and Procurement Canada said the total cost of more than 27,000 ventilators Canada stockpiled was over $807 million, including $82.5 million for the Mechanical Ventilator Milano (MVM), designed by McDonald's group.ĭr. And while procurement is an essential part of emergency preparedness, some wonder if more effort instead should have been spent addressing what they consider a weakness in our health-care system - that of staffing and space. Still, by fall 2020 thousands of ventilators were set to be manufactured in response to multiple contracts that were awarded by the federal government in the spring. A dramatic drop in use of the machines occurred when vaccines became available, starting in mid-December 2020. ![]() There were also fears about doctors having to decide which patients would be prioritized for scarce ventilators.īut months into the pandemic, they were learning ventilators were not always the best option, especially for elderly patients with chronic conditions. McDonald said Cristiano Galbiati, a colleague and physics professor at Princeton University and an institute in Italy, contacted him from Milan during lockdowns in early 2020 to say the technology they had developed to detect dark matter could be adapted to produce a low-cost ventilator.Īt the time, some countries were scrambling to get more ventilators, which pump oxygen through a tube in the windpipe and into the lungs of patients to help them breathe. COVID-19 Brief newsletter: Sign up for an informed guide on the pandemic.Various efforts included a Montreal-based competition that drew global competitors and a group of scientists and engineers involving Queen's University professor emeritus Art McDonald, co-winner of the 2015 Nobel Prize in physics. They can buy individual stocks or ETFs at 99 cents a trade, set up an automatic investment plan, track their investments, learn about stock investing through free mini-lessons, or help others get started by purchasing e-gifts or physical gift cards redeemable for stock.Canada's race to procure ventilators for COVID-19 patients in the early days of the pandemic had researchers, scientists, industry and a notable astrophysicist working "night and day"to design machines that could be quickly manufactured domestically. Stockpile customers can download the iPhone or Android app or visit to open a free account for themselves or anyone in their family, including children under 18. Even someone with only a few dollars can buy a piece of a favorite brand like Amazon or Alphabet, which are currently trading close to $1000 a share." "Fractional shares make market investing fun, easy, and personal. "We're on a mission to make it simple for everyone - especially young, first-time investors - to save and invest for their future," says Avi Lele, Stockpile's founder and CEO. Mayfield led Stockpile's $15 million Series A in October 2015, with participation by Arbor Ventures, Stanford University, and actor Ashton Kutcher. This latest investment brings the total raised by Stockpile to more than $45 million. ![]()
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