Medical Supply Chains

U.S. medical supply chains failed, and COVID deaths followed

Medical supply chains are the fragile lifelines between raw materials and manufacturers overseas, and health care workers on COVID-19 front lines in the U.S. As link after link broke, the system fell apart. This catastrophic collapse was one of the country’s most consequential failures to control the virus.

Lori Gonzalez, left, and Rachel Spray carry flowers to the temporary grave marker of Gonzalez's sister and Kaiser Permanente Fresno Medical Center nurse, Sandra Oldfield, at the Sanger Cemetery in Sanger, Calif., Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020. Oldfield died after being exposed to the novel coronavirus. Workers at the hospital said they did not have the proper personal protective equipment. (AP Photo/Gary Kazanjian)

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