Thousands of US healthcare workers have died fighting Covid-19, most are Nurses

[NRSKarenRN, BSN, RN]

The Guardian Newspaper and Kaiser Health News  have reported that thousands of US healthcare workers have died fighting Covid-19. Their investigations have revealed the disproportionate burden on healthcare workers of color and government undercounts of deaths.   As of 1/06/21, the Guardian reports more than 3,300+  COVID-19 healthcare workers deaths in their comprehensive database, including pictures and profiles of each person.

Their key findings include:

• The majority of the deaths were early in the pandemic
• More than half were younger than 60
• Two in three deceased health care workers identified as people of color
• Many of the cases involved concerns over inadequate PPE
• More than a third of the health care workers who died were born outside the United States
• Nurses 31% and support staff 19% account for most deaths
• Nearly 700 worked in New York and New Jersey
• Most people did not work at hospitals

Lost on the Frontline

Thousands of US healthcare workers have died fighting Covid-19. We count them and investigate why.

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Lost on the Frontline is an interactive, public-facing database that aims to count and honor every US healthcare worker – whether doctors or custodians, nursing home aides or paramedics – who dies after contracting the coronavirus on the job. It is the most comprehensive accounting of US healthcare workers’ deaths in the country.

But Lost on the Frontline also includes over 60 investigative and news stories that scrutinize why this tragedy occurred, often inspired by findings and trends that emerged thanks to the database itself.

By tracking factors such as race and ethnicity, age, profession, location and whether the workers had adequate access to protective gear, the database has provided insight into the workings – and failings – of the US health system during the pandemic. Our investigations have revealed the disproportionate burden on healthcare workers of color, government undercounts of deaths, the relative youth of healthcare fatalities compared to deaths in the general population, and more.

Some of these deaths were probably preventable. In the US, a lack of preparedness for the crisis, government missteps and an overburdened healthcare system increased the risks faced by health workers. Inadequate access to testing, a nationwide shortage of protective gear and resistance to social distancing and mask-wearing are among the factors that have forced more patients into overburdened hospitals and driven up the death toll.

Gaps in government data have increased the need for independent tracking. As of 17 December, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 928 deaths among health workers – but the agency does not list specific names or demographic data and has conceded this is a likely undercount.

Our data and profiles have headlined a report from the National Academy of Sciences, inspired congressional efforts to protect health care workers, and has become the primary source for health care worker death data for news outlets, researchers and policymakers across the nation.

Please help us make the database more complete by sharing tips here.

 

[TheMoonisMyLantern, LPN, RN]

A very grim article but it is hardly surprising. Do we call this sacrifice or slaughter? I don't mean to be histrionic it's just that with the horrific lack of planning on most healthcare institutions had regarding a pandemic and the actions implemented by companies that led to inadequate PPE, supplies, staff, in the initial months of the pandemic the constant back and forth of "It's airborne!" "No, it's droplet" oh you don't need an N95 just where a surgical mask... And it ain't over yet.