Meng and Ocasio-Cortez Call on President Trump to Prioritize Transfer of Personal Protective Equipment and Ventilators From National Stockpile to Elmhurst Hospital

QUEENS, NY – U.S. Reps. Grace Meng (D-Queens) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Queens/Bronx) announced today that they sent a letter to President Trump calling on him to prioritize the transfer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ventilators from the national stockpile to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, New York.

"We entreat you to promptly deploy immediate necessary resources to decrease the intensity and mitigate long-term harm of COVID-19," Meng and Ocasio-Cortez wrote. "We urge you to address the needs required at Elmhurst Hospital."

"Elmhurst Hospital Center has become the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak here in New York City, and the situation is devastating," said Meng. "Its medical staff needs this equipment to protect themselves and their patients, and they need it NOW! I implore President Trump to do the right thing; help us save lives and send these desperately needed resources to Elmhurst. This is a matter of life and death!"

The text of the letter is below, and a copy of the correspondence, which was sent late last night, can be viewed here.

March 26, 2020

President Donald J. Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

We write to you because COVID-19 is ravaging our beloved New York City; we thereby implore you to prioritize the transfer of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and ventilators from the national stockpile to New York, and specifically to Elmhurst Hospital in Queens, NY.

Just today, our nation has now surpassed all others as having the highest number of COVID-19 cases in the world, with New York City being the epicenter of this pandemic. More specifically, Elmhurst Hospital is on the precipice of being the nerve center of this unprecedented public health crisis. We have been warned that more than half of New Yorkers will be infected with COVID-19.

As our nation is dealing with the economic and emotional shock of this pandemic, we are extremely concerned about the serious threat the virus poses on our local hospitals and health care systems. The skyrocketing cases of COVID-19 in New York City, which is currently at over 22,000 cases, is forcing our hospitals to operate beyond their normal capacity. Even by the time you read this letter, the number of infected cases will further increase exponentially.

As you know, our health care workers are on the frontlines of this COVID-19 war, as they perform their duties in the face of increased personal risk and strain. The shortages of PPEs are jeopardizing the lives and welfare of these brave workers and of patients; if left unresolved, this would have a devastating ripple effect that will certainly revert any containment attempts. Furthermore, one less ventilator is one less life that had the hope of being saved. The staggering numbers of critical patients at Elmhurst Hospital is compounded with the shortages of ventilators.

We entreat you to promptly deploy immediate necessary resources to decrease the intensity and mitigate long-term harm of COVID-19. Any delays in the procurement of PPE would significantly hamper our health care system's ability to respond to this crisis. We urge you to address the needs required at Elmhurst Hospital. This is a matter of life and death.

Sincerely,

Grace Meng Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Member of Congress Member of Congress

cc:

The Honorable Michael Pence, Vice President, Chair, White House Coronavirus Task Force

The Honorable Alex M. Azar, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

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