Doctors say the machine that helps some people with sleep apnea keep their airway open at night won't be enough to help an ill COVID-19 patient breathe and could spread the coronavirus to bystanders.

Doctors say the machine that helps some people with sleep apnea keep their airway open at night won't be enough to help an ill COVID-19 patient breathe and could spread the coronavirus to bystanders.

Biden is using a continuous positive airway pressure machine, or CPAP, which keeps a person’s airways open during sleep so he or she can receive the oxygen needed to function.

Doctors say the machine that helps some people with sleep apnea keep their airway open at night won't be enough to help an ill COVID-19 patient breathe, and could spread the coronavirus to bystanders.

Finigan said in patients with standard respiratory failure, doctors might first see if patients can get by on high-flow nasal oxygen or on BiPAP machines to avoid intubation and sedation.

Doctors say the machine that helps some people with sleep apnea keep their airway open at night won't be enough to help an ill COVID-19 patient breathe and could spread the coronavirus to bystanders.