Broken Ventilators Require Easier Fixes, Black Leaders Demand

Broken ventilators are the latest problem facing black communities that have so far borne the brunt of coronavirus deaths.

States and large cities recently received damaged ventilators from the U.S. stockpile, rendering them unusable. With ventilators in short supply, minority advocates demand governments and manufacturers take steps to make it easier to fix broken equipment.

Ventilators are necessary not just for Covid-19 patients but also those with respiratory conditions like asthma, which is three times more likely to kill black people, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Color of Change, a civil rights advocacy organization, in an ...