Why the U.S. Is Running Out of Medical Supplies

States and cities across the United States are reporting dangerous shortages of the vital medical supplies needed to contain the coronavirus. Why is the world’s biggest economy suffering such a scramble to find lifesaving equipment?

Guest: Sarah Kliff, an investigative reporter covering health care for The New York Times. For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily.

Background reading:

• The scarcity of ventilators has become an emergency, forcing doctors to make life-or-death decisions. The collapse of a government effort to produce an emergency stockpile reveals much about the challenges now being faced in fighting the pandemic.
• This map of the United States shows gaps in the existing health care infrastructure — and which areas may face a shortage of hospital beds as the virus spreads.