Ministry of Health announces no shortage of ventilators; therefore, people should not buy
Moreover, the mass purchase of such medical equipment will lead to a shortage of supplies, making it impossible for medical facilities and hospitals to buy machines for patients in need when the epidemic has developed unpredictably.
When the Southeast Asian country is facing the fourth wave of the coronavirus epidemic from April 27 until now, more than 50,000 infections of Covid-19 have been reported in cities and provinces nationwide; worse, Ho Chi Minh City has the most cases of infections with nearly 33,000 infection cases.
The fast-spreading Delta variant along with the constantly increasing number of cases has created great pressure on the health sector and infirmaries. This has made people worry a lot. Consequently, many people have been looking to buy ventilators, oxygen concentrators, and store oxygen cylinders for backup despite warnings from medical experts.
According to Dr. Nguyen Trong Khoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Medical Examination and Treatment Administration under the Ministry of Health, Covid-19 patients with respiratory failure or difficulty breathing need respiratory support; however, not all cases of Covid-19 patients require ventilation.
According to the data recorded in this epidemic, about 80 percent of Covid-19 patients this time who are asymptomatic or have mild clinical symptoms while only about 5 percent of the cases need oxygen concentrators, 0.17 percent of cases undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation and 1.3 percent of case requiring invasive mechanical ventilation.
Only trained healthcare workers can operate oxygen concentrators and other medical equipment including blood pressure monitors and thermometers. Therefore, people can’t use the above-mentioned medical equipment at home.
Talking about the oxygen supply, Doctor Nguyen Trong Khoa said that the Ministry of Health has ensured the supply of oxygen is 30 times higher than the current demand in hospitals; accordingly, people don’t worry that oxygen supply will be short in the country in general or in Ho Chi Minh City in particular.
This morning, the country reported 2,015 additional cases of Covid-19 including 136 critically ill patients.
