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Fears of a ventilator shortage have unleashed a wave of experimentation at hospitals around the country that is leading to some promising alternatives to help sustain patients. Doctors at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island have been using machines designed for people with sleep apnea to keep scores of coronavirus patients breathing, and engineers at New York University have transformed hooded hair salon dryers into personal negative pressure chambers that deliver oxygen and limit the spread of aerosolized virus, lowering the infection risks for health care workers and other patients. (Jacobs, 4/17)

Lawmakers in New Jersey, which is quickly becoming the new epicenter of the Covid-19 pandemic, are worried new emergency triage guidelines for the state’s hospitals could push younger, whiter patients to the front of the line. Hospital resources are running low, and the guidelines instruct facilities to give ventilators to those most likely to survive in the event the state’s health system is overrun by Covid-19 patients. That may mean African Americans, who are more likely to have other conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, may lose out if ventilators must be rationed. (Sutton and Sitrin, 4/19)

For weeks, U.S. government officials and hospital executives have warned of a looming shortage of ventilators as the coronavirus pandemic descended. But now, doctors are sounding an alarm about an unexpected and perhaps overlooked crisis: a surge in Covid-19 patients with kidney failure that is leading to shortages of machines, supplies and staff required for emergency dialysis. In recent weeks, doctors on the front lines in intensive care units in New York and other hard-hit cities have learned that the coronavirus isn’t only a respiratory disease that has led to a crushing demand for ventilators. (Abelson, Fink, Kulish and Thomas, 4/18)

The kidney problems are being seen in patients who don't have advanced diabetes or chronic renal conditions. No one anticipated the trend, based on research from the COVID-19 outbreaks in Asia or Europe. "It's created a pretty substantial burden on supplies," said Dr. Steven Fishbane, head of nephrology at Northwell Health, New York's largest hospital network. "Everybody is running into shortages at this point." (Mogul, 4/19)

It pays to be the middleman — especially in a time of crisis. For W.W. Grainger Inc., a big industrial supply company, that meant quickly doubling the price of coveralls in a contract with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that is worth as much as $35.8 million. The short of it: Grainger, acting as the silent partner in a deal between the federal government and two other companies, bought coveralls at $4 apiece from DuPont and then sold them to Uncle Sam for $7.96 apiece. (Allen, McCausland and Farivar, 4/18)