The U.S. Tried to Build a New Fleet of Ventilators. The Mission Failed. - The New York Times

As the coronavirus spreads, the collapse of the project helps explain America’s acute shortage.

The plan was to build a large fleet of inexpensive portable devices to deploy in a flu pandemic or another crisis.

Money was budgeted. A federal contract was signed. Work got underway.

And then things suddenly veered off course. A multibillion-dollar maker of medical devices bought the small California company that had been hired to design the new machines. The project ultimately produced zero ventilators...