Did they have to die? How America's Covid response left 3,000 health workers dead

Dire PPE shortages. Limited Covid tests. Political negligence. A Guardian/KHN investigation reveals what went wrong

• Lost on the frontline interactive: the healthcare workers who have died in the pandemic

Workers at Garfield medical center in suburban Los Angeles were on edge as the pandemic ramped up in March and April. Staffers in a 30-patient unit were rationing a single tub of sanitizing wipes all day. A May memo from the chief executive said N95 masks could be cleaned up to 20 times before replacement.