GOP Candidate Points to Ventilators as ‘Deadly Problem’ More Threatening Than Covid in Debate Dustup

Republican Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen took aim at the use of ventilators during the Covid pandemic as a “deadly problem” in his final debate against Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) before the midterms elections.

During a debate on the government’s response to Covid, Jensen argued many knee-jerk reactions to the pandemic made matters worse, including lockdowns and ventilators, which were utilized early in the pandemic for those dealing with the worst effects of Covid.

“Generally, when we put someone on a ventilator, we expect about a 30 percent death rate,” Jensen, who is a physician, said at one point after being asked who he would trust if another health crisis like Covid came along. According to Jensen, Covid patients put on ventilators had a “four in five chance” of dying.

“Isn’t that because of Covid? Covid was a deadly problem,” the debate moderator Mike Mulcahy of MPR News offered.

Jensen slapped away this statement, pointing to ventilators as the actual “deadly problem.”

“No, the ventilator was the deadly problem. We actually reduced death rates once we stopped using the ventilators,” Jensen said, touting the use of anti-inflammatories, steroids, and more as more effective alternative treatments.

A Washington Post report from 2021 revealed health officials did feel ventilators may have been overused in the pandemic, but British health officials also raised alarms about growing fears around the machines among patients, leading many to refuse the treatment.

Jensen has been highly critical of the government’s response to Covid, previously comparing the government’s actions to nazi Germany, a statement that Walz called on him to apologize for.

Walz pushed back on his opponent’s claims on Covid by referencing his endorsements from within the healthcare community, including the endorsement of the Minnesota Medical Association. Jensen at one point dismissed the group as a “liberal organization” that does not represent the majority of doctors in the state.

Watch above via MPR News