America’s Health System, Shaken by Coronavirus, Withstands It

America’s beleaguered health system has remained afloat throughout the coronavirus attack, if only through raw ingenuity.

As Covid-19 started spreading across the U.S., health officials made grim projections of hundreds of thousands of deaths if residents didn’t shelter in place. Hospital executives predicted frightening forecasts: mass shortages of intensive-care beds, dwindling personal protective equipment and a dearth of ventilators.

The worst didn’t come to pass. Today, almost every state is avoiding ICU bed shortages, according to the consulting firm Advisory Board. On April 1, projections had painted a bleak picture of unquenchable demand. On April 13, the outlook was “much ...