New York City’s status as epicenter of the U.S. COVID-19 outbreak has put immense stress on its healthcare industry. In the space of a few weeks, doctors have not only adjusted how they operate, but faced stark ethical issues posed by the inequity and weakness in the public health system unearthed by the pandemic. Columbia Medical School ethicist Dr. Barbra Rothschild discusses what New York’s COVID-19 crisis says about our healthcare system and how we should think about the next stage of the pandemic.