With global COVID-19 cases now reaching over one million, the pandemic situation is escalating every day in the United States. Deaths in New York jumped by 562 between Thursday and Friday alone, the largest overnight increase in a U.S. state thus far. A University of Washington study estimates that deaths will peak in the next two weeks in the U.S.; hospitals are gearing up for the worst. As the nation’s medical system races to prepare itself, nurses and doctors are caught in the crossfire. In a short period of time, their jobs have become incredibly dangerous and extremely stressful- with limited protective equipment, as they tread into unfamiliar territory. 

The shortage of N95 respirator masks has become a dire issue for U.S. hospitals. Unlike a standard surgical mask, the N95 mask prevents 95% of airborne particles from penetrating. These special masks have to be certified by the CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and are tightly fitted to the faces of medical workers to ensure the utmost safety. 

The supply chain for these masks is already limited, and a number of the companies that manufacture them are located in China, which bought its domestically produced masks during its own pandemic crisis. A study conducted by Premier Incorporated found that U.S. hospitals are ranking the N95 mask shortage as their top concern. 

Because of this extreme shortage, nurses are being forced to use donated cloth masks and surgical masks, which do not provide adequate protection against COVID-19. Members of National Nurses United are leading protests against HCA Healthcare, the largest for-profit healthcare provider in seven states, for the lack of personal protective equipment (PPE) being provided. National Nurses United claims that just 7% of nurses at HCA Healthcare facilities say they have enough PPE to protect staff and patients if there is a surge in coronavirus patients in their hospital, compared with 19% of nurses in general. Registered nurse Amy Silverman called healthcare workers “canaries in the coal mine” in an op-ed published by Common Dreams. 

As the odds of potential exposure increase every day, some healthcare workers are making the difficult decision not to return to their families until the virus spread slows. 

“My spouse is a physician in the emergency dept and is actively treating #coronavirus patients. We just made the difficult decision for him to isolate & move into our garage apartment for the foreseeable future as he continues to treat patients,” said one Twitter user. She continues in a thread, “We have a 3 wk old newborn and 2 young kids and just can’t risk it. It pains me to wonder how many weeks will go by that he won’t get to hold our new baby or see our older kids. This is one example of the sacrifice that healthcare workers are making for our communities.”

It is hard to imagine a more difficult time in history for healthcare workers around the world. Though nurses and doctors have always had a difficult occupation- requiring constant emotional labor, intensive training and careful protocols- putting their lives on the line is newly charted territory for many. Regardless of extreme challenges and new hardships faced, these incredible individuals continue their labor of love to save as many lives as they can. For that, they deserve endless recognition and the supplies needed to stay healthy.