The coronavirus pandemic has made people around the world look at their lives from a different angle. In fear for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones, people began to buy up various protective equipment. The companies producing them were not ready for such stir, so there was a shortage of equipment that are now urgently needed in hospitals.
Patients with COVID-19 in severe cases of the course of the disease cannot breathe on their own, so they need ventilators. Hospitals around the world are now lacking in such devices, since existing facilities are not designed for their production in such a large number.
Thousands of people die every day around the world, including doctors who become infected with the virus due to a lack of protective equipment. At the moment, in the US there is an increased growth of patients, so enterprises, businessmen and ordinary people rallied together, wanting to help hospitals.
Tesla and SpaceX, led by Elon Musk, became active participants, constantly donating the necessary items to hospitals: masks, medical gowns, goggles, helmets and vital ventilators. And to date, many hospitals have received the necessary equipment.
My little sister (bottom left) is a surgeon in an ICU in Denver. She is on the frontlines of this pandemic, working to save lives.
— Mac William Bishop (@MacWBishop) March 25, 2020
Today her hospital received a donation of 500+ sets of PPE (masks & gowns) after her husband convinced @Tesla to make a donation. pic.twitter.com/rcx099q7zE
I want to publicly thank @elonmusk for sending a truckload of PPEs (masks, gowns, etc.) to UCLA Health today! They will be put to good use. My wife, her co-workers and her patients thank you profusely. pic.twitter.com/SiAdqMcPCT
— Peyton Reed (@MrPeytonReed) March 22, 2020
Thank you @elonmusk for sending our hospital respiratory support equipment that we urgently need to treat #Covid19 patients here in Brooklyn. #Lifesaver. TY @GlobalRabbi for facilitating. #Gratitude #OneMaimonides pic.twitter.com/7dbNyEEafW
— Maimonides MedCenter (@MaimonidesMC) March 27, 2020
More people are coming together for Detroit. Tesla is sending 80 non-invasive BiPAP ventilators for our hospitals. They should arrive and begin helping patients within days. Thank you, Tesla!
— Mayor Mike Duggan (@MayorMikeDuggan) April 3, 2020
.@elonmusk and @Tesla posted an offer for sending out respirators. We responded. This morning, at the loading dock of Hackensack Meridian @OceanMedicalCtr we received a tier 1 respirator and other medical equipment. On behalf of the patients @HMHNewJersey, we thank you. pic.twitter.com/0oHT1BBkr9
— Hackensack Meridian (@HMHNewJersey) April 3, 2020
Thank you to our community for the outpouring of support and #PPE donations you have contributed.
— Temple Health (@TempleHealth) April 2, 2020
Special thanks to:
Temple Center for Asian Health, Temple University Chinese Community, American Chinese United Organization, @dc21iupat @FMCCorp @usli150 @PPFpretzels @Tesla (1/2) pic.twitter.com/jXC5jAtpcY
@Tesla CCMC and LIJ are truly thankful for your donation. We will put this to great use. With what was on the news yesterday we are thrilled to have these in our hands. We are forever grateful. pic.twitter.com/TDDvv9Sej6
— Dawn D'Andraia (@ddandraia1222) April 2, 2020
We are overwhelmed by the generosity of @Tesla who donated 40 ventilators to us today! Thank you, #Tesla, for helping us breathe a little easier during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/oe03m4zXPi
— Henry Ford News (@HenryFordNews) April 4, 2020
The contribution of SpaceX and Tesla to saving people is enormous. But, unfortunately, there are people who, even in this situation, are trying to find a way to belittle Musk’s merits and insult him. Upon learning that Tesla sends non-invasive BiPAP ventilators to hospitals, hundreds of articles and comments appeared on social networks and media that said that Musk sent completely unnecessary devices. But the opinion of doctors is very different from the opinion of those who state this.
It turns out that these devices can be converted into invasive mechanical ventilators. Hospitals in the US are already doing this, because at the moment, due to the acute shortage of invasive mechanical ventilators, people are dying.
The President and Chief Operating Officer at The Mount Sinai Hospital, David Reich, has published a working protocol, which details how they converted non-invasive bi-level ventilators into devices that can be monitored ventilation to patients with acute hypoxemic respiratory failure.
Very grateful to Tesla for providing Resmed ventilators that our team was able to convert to critical care-capable. Innovation by The Mount Sinai Hospital's team in a crisis! https://t.co/ZH6zCuiL1l
— David L. Reich, MD (@DrDavidReich) April 2, 2020
In addition to this, currently, the Tesla team is actively collaborating with Medtronic in order to start the production of ventilators at its factory in Buffalo. This will help reduce the high demand for them and enable patients who need them to survive.
The consequences of the attacks directed against Tesla could lead to tragic consequences, but it is unlikely that the people who stand behind it want to be responsible for this. If Musk did not donate to the BiPAP ventilators, the people who are now breathing thanks to them would be dead. Words and actions have consequences and each of us chooses what he has to do.
The Tesmanian team is sincerely grateful to SpaceX, Tesla and Elon Musk for acting and for don't give up despite incessant attacks. Your help is priceless, because it saves human lives that are priceless.
[UPDATE]
First Medtronic units from Tesla getting installed in NY.
Follow @EvaFoxUFirst Medtronic units from Tesla getting installed in NY metro area. These are for worst case situations. pic.twitter.com/xyFRZwv1M7
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 4, 2020