US state Arkansas' team in charge of procuring ventilators thought they had scored a coup: a vendor had agreed to sell them 500 of the breathing machines critical to keeping Covid-19 patients alive at $19,000 each.
The next day they were told the deal had vanished because a buyer representing New York state was offering to purchase 10,000 units, pay cash upfront and double the price, a deal the vendor could not turn down.
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