https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20200409/02253144266/manufacturers-refuse-to-allow-hospitals-to-fix-ventilators-that-are-last-hope-many-covid-19-patients.shtml

The coronavirus pandemic has developed so quickly that the key people involved in dealing with it -- including medical staff, scientists, and governments -- are still struggling to find the resources to do so effectively. One key issue that has emerged is that there may not be enough ventilators to keep people with the most serious symptoms of COVID-19 alive. The fear is that doctors will have to make on-the-spot decisions about who has priority for the machines that are available -- tantamount to deciding who will live, and who will die. The prospect of that terrible burden being placed on medics' shoulders has led to a global scramble to obtain as many of these machines as possible so that there is a ventilator for everyone who needs one.

The urgency of the situation has led to some unprecedented solutions. For example, major car manufacturers are retooling their vehicle production lines to make ventilators. The US Health and Human Services Department has awarded a contract for $489 million to General Motors to make 30,000 ventilators. Meanwhile, Ford aims to supply 50,000 ventilators in 100 days. The Spanish car-maker Seat, part of Volkswagen, has built emergency ventilators out of windscreen wiper parts. Similarly, Tesla is seeking to re-purpose parts from its own cars to create ventilator systems.