Yes, the wheels of production are starting to turn. Right now, there's a virus test shortage, a toilet paper shortage, a mask shortage, and a hand sanitizer shortage. Production of all those small items has already gone way up, and most of those shortages should be solved in a week or two.
Bigger items like ventilators, ICU suites, and hospitals take longer.
As for levels of government, that's very real. People outside the US often don't realize it, but the states have more power than the Federal government in many areas. I'm in San Mateo County, California, and we're in lockdown because the County Medical Officer and the county supervisors decided it was necessary. They didn't have to ask permission from any higher authority to do that. Action by the state governor came later. Action by the Federal government came even later, and was mostly advisory.
California has wildfires, earthquakes, and floods routinely. So the state's Office of Emergency Services is large and well-funded, and their emergency operations center is usually dealing with something. Most large cities have emergency operations centers.
It won't be enough at first. But this is going to be a months long problem, if not a year or two. The support facilities will catch up.
> People outside the US often don't realize it, but the states have more power than the Federal government in many areas.
Especially when a local or a statewide emergency is declared. At that point, all bets are off and authorities can do pretty much whatever they want until someone gets a judge to issue an injunction, which they're a lot less likely to do in a state of emergency unless its gross abuse of civil liberties. Even then, if it goes on long enough, executive power at all levels of government becomes even harder to curtail.
Thinking that the pandemic will blow over before a sufficient amount of ventilators are available may actually be too optimistic.
Car factories and similar manufacturing plants can probably be turned around in a matter of months, and will be able to produce millions of respirators over a year or two.
The virus, unless properly contained, is likely to be a threat for at least 1-2 years, and that is assuming no significant mutations to restart the cycle.
During WW2, the US started ordering Essex class carriers in 1940. Even though they were not present during the critical months of early 1942, they did turn the battle of the Pacific in 1943.
Bigger items like ventilators, ICU suites, and hospitals take longer.
As for levels of government, that's very real. People outside the US often don't realize it, but the states have more power than the Federal government in many areas. I'm in San Mateo County, California, and we're in lockdown because the County Medical Officer and the county supervisors decided it was necessary. They didn't have to ask permission from any higher authority to do that. Action by the state governor came later. Action by the Federal government came even later, and was mostly advisory.
California has wildfires, earthquakes, and floods routinely. So the state's Office of Emergency Services is large and well-funded, and their emergency operations center is usually dealing with something. Most large cities have emergency operations centers.
It won't be enough at first. But this is going to be a months long problem, if not a year or two. The support facilities will catch up.