That is a good question. I suppose there was some stock of these before the crisis but those are very likely all depleted. Still, with this many suppliers it might not hurt to ask. Dutch proverb: "If you don't shoot you will certainly miss".
> Dutch proverb: "If you don't shoot you will certainly miss".
Huh. The idea is certainly around in the US, but I'm kind of surprised I can't think of a matching proverb.
We have a very close match, but it's considered a witty quote from a particular person (no consensus on who) -- "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take".
There's also something along the lines of "you can't get what you don't ask for". There's also an individually attributed version of this: "if you don't ask, you don't get". I had to look this up. There is no really common version.
And of course, there's "ninety percent of success is showing up". Again this is attributed -- quote trackers seem to agree that it should be "80%", not "90%". But this one is common enough that I could see it becoming a proverb eventually. On the other hand, this has gone somewhat afield from "if you don't shoot, you won't hit".
So what about the lawsuits when you throw informed consent out the window to try unproven, unfit products on patients and they die because of failed products that weren't FDA cleared or approved? How many good doctors and hospitals have to close up in order to gamble with patient's lives on untested machines?
Perfect is the enemy of good. If it comes down to no equipment for me, or untested alpha versions, tell me where to sign my name to indemnify the hospital against its risk.
For what it's worth, China has literally turned around pending export medical supplies, and banned certain exports. Ventilators seem like they would be on that list, if it has not been withdrawn yet.
