Ventilators Are No Panacea for Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients
![A ventilator can help patients unable to breathe on their own, but the experience of COVID-19 patients has been sobering for doctors.](https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2020/04/02/vents2_wide-4b35ed098320ed2f7c51658f7dd56946a21c1b41.jpg?s=600)
Ventilators can be lifesaving for some critically ill patients, but they're no panacea. The experience so far with COVID-19 is that the majority of patients put on ventilators don't survive.
(Image credit: Taechit Taechamanodom/Getty Images)
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