Pentagon says it still hasn’t sent ventilators because it hasn’t been told where to send them
March 31, 2020 / By Barbara Starr and Zachary Cohen, CNN
Washington (CNN) – Despite having committed to transferring 2,000 ventilators in military stocks to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the Department of Health and Human Services to fight the coronavirus outbreak, the Pentagon has not shipped any of them because the agencies have not asked for them or provided a shipping location, the Pentagon’s top logistics official said Tuesday.
In order to ship the badly needed equipment, the Defense Department has to be given a location to send them by civilian authorities who have to decide where the items are most needed.
“There was discussion with HHS on where to send them. And then they said hey wait, we’re trying to take a look at the demand that’s required, and so we were asked to just wait while there was just some sorting through on that. And I won’t speak on behalf of them, but we were in a position to provide 2,000,” said Lt. General Giovanni Tuck.
Tuck said he had no details on the HHS decisions, but added that “we haven’t provided any, because as of last night, we were asked to just hold on the ones that we have, and then we will push them when they’re ready for them.”
