Most workers who died of COVID in 2020 had something essential in common, study finds [View all]

Source: Miami Herald

Most workers who died of COVID in 2020 had something essential in common, study finds

Daniel Chang
Sat, June 4, 2022, 6:00 AM·4 min read

Most working-age Americans who died of COVID-19 during the first year of the pandemic were so-called essential workers in labor, service and retail jobs that required on-site attendance and prolonged contact with others, according to a recently published study led by a University of South Florida epidemiologist.

The study looks back on COVID-19 deaths in 2020 and affirms what many had already known or suspected — that Americans who could not work from home and who labored in low-paying jobs with few or no benefits, such as paid sick leave and health insurance coverage, bore the brunt of deaths during the pandemic’s first year, said Jason Salemi, an associate professor in USF’s College of Public Health and co-author of the study.

Salemi said the finding, while perhaps expected, left him with two takeaways: That essential workers need more protections during an infectious disease pandemic, and that society’s desire to “return to normal” will mean different things for different people — with inequitable consequences.

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Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/most-people-died-covid-2020-100000339.html

Original Miami Herald link: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article262129007.html