General Motors is working with Ventec to build critical care ventilators (VOCSN) for the U.S. as the number of COVID-19 cases continues to rise.
Currently, there are 122,653 cases as of March 29 and 2,112 deaths, based on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hotspots include New York, California, Michigan, Illinois, and Florida, to name a few.
U.S. President Donald Trump recently invoked the Defense Production Act to force GM to create the ventilators.
“Today, I signed a Presidential Memorandum directing the Secretary of Health and Human Services to use any and all authority available under the Defense Production Act to require General Motors to accept, perform, and prioritize Federal contracts for ventilators,” said Trump on March 27, via a White House statement.
It’s worth noting that GM was already in negotiations with the White House before the Act was invoked, and had been working on a plan. However, pressure from states like New York to receive more ventilators, in the tens of thousands, likely helped push Trump to invoke the Act.
“Our negotiations with GM regarding its ability to supply ventilators have been productive, but our fight against the virus is too urgent to allow the give-and-take of the contracting process to continue to run its normal course,” said Trump.
