Trump also announced plans to send ventilators to Mexico following a discussion with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador. “I told him we’re going to be helping him very substantially,” he said, according to Reuters.

While a positive sign, experts warn that demand could once again rise should there be a second wave of infection or an immediate rebound after social distancing protocols end. This scenario is especially concerning as some states forgo warnings and begin to reopen their economies earlier than recommended.

Manufacturers continue to ramp up production levels and establish agreements with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. These include Zoll, a unit of Asahi Kasei Group, which has boosted production by 25 times to 10,000 units per month; and Resmed, which has agreed for $32 million to produce 2,550 ventilators by July 13.

“The idea is not only to make sure we in the U.S., but also around the world, have them if, God forbid, something like this should ever happen again,” said Hill-Rom spokesman Howard Karesh, whose company has signed an HHS contract to manufacture noninvasive ventilators, and has increased production by five times the number it produced prior to the pandemic. He predicts it could be months before the health crisis ends.

Some records show HHS ventilator contracts were single-source and had no competitive bids. The White House said this was due to the urgent need for ventilators.

It is unclear how many of the 187,000 ventilators are invasive versions.

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