Behind The Byline: ‘At Least I Got the Shot

Photojournalist Heidi de Marco’s stunning images transport viewers to two California hospitals near the U.S.-Mexico border where the influx of patients with COVID-19 overwhelmed local intensive care units in late May. To capture these scenes at El Centro Regional Medical Center in Imperial County and Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista in San Diego County, de Marco donned personal protective equipment and followed each facility’s safety guidelines. Still, she acknowledges, the work increased her risk of exposure to the coronavirus. She also risked bringing the virus home to her family. For her it was worth the risk, in order to give readers a window on health care in the midst of a pandemic — and to share her work with the world.