"Diligent preparation and effective countermeasures are critical to mitigating future influenza pandemics. The 1918 influenza pandemic, the most severe in recent history, resulted in ≈50 million deaths globally, of which nearly 675,000 occurred in the United States (1). The 1957 and 2009 pandemics were less severe, causing ≈70,000 and 9,000–18,000 US deaths, respectively (1). The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) estimated (2) that 865,000 US residents would be hospitalized during a moderate pandemic (as in 1957 and 1968) and 9.9 million during a severe pandemic (as in 1918).
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Mechanical ventilators are essential for treating influenza patients in severe acute respiratory failure. Substantial concern exists that intensive care units (ICUs) might have insufficient resources to treat all persons requiring ventilator support. Prior studies argue that current capacities are insufficient to handle even moderately severe pandemics and that sentinel reporting and model-based decision-making are critical for managing limited resources (4–6). For this reason, the United States has stockpiled mechanical ventilators in strategically located warehouses for use in public health emergencies, such as an influenza pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) manages this Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and has plans for rapid deployment to states during critical events (7).
However, SNS ventilators might not suffice to meet demand during a severe public health emergency. In 2002, the SNS included ≈4,400 ventilators (8,9), and 4,500 SNS ventilators were added during 2009 and 2010. The American Association for Respiratory Care suggested the SNS inventory should increase to at least 11,000–16,000 ventilators in preparation for a severe influenza pandemic (10). "
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5443432/
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Mechanical ventilators are essential for treating influenza patients in severe acute respiratory failure. Substantial concern exists that intensive care units (ICUs) might have insufficient resources to treat all persons requiring ventilator support. Prior studies argue that current capacities are insufficient to handle even moderately severe pandemics and that sentinel reporting and model-based decision-making are critical for managing limited resources (4–6). For this reason, the United States has stockpiled mechanical ventilators in strategically located warehouses for use in public health emergencies, such as an influenza pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) manages this Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) and has plans for rapid deployment to states during critical events (7).
However, SNS ventilators might not suffice to meet demand during a severe public health emergency. In 2002, the SNS included ≈4,400 ventilators (8,9), and 4,500 SNS ventilators were added during 2009 and 2010. The American Association for Respiratory Care suggested the SNS inventory should increase to at least 11,000–16,000 ventilators in preparation for a severe influenza pandemic (10). "
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5443432/