More than 2,900 health professionals in the U.S. died of COVID-19 during the pandemic, according to an analysis by Kaiser Health News and The Guardian.
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More than 2,900 US health workers died of COVID-19 in a pandemic: report
O report points out that the recorded fatalities are significantly higher than those reported by the United States government. Health professionals in New York and New Jersey, where the pandemic hit strongly in early March and April, are responsible for 680 of the deaths.
Most of the health workers who died in the pandemic were people of color, accounting for 65% of deaths, according to the report. Many were less than 60 years old.
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Reporters from The Guardian and KHN compiled data through unions, obituaries, the media and online postings made by survivors of health workers. They also interviewed relatives and friends of some 300 victims. An earlier count revealed 1,450 deaths of health workers during the pandemic.
The report found that about a third of the deaths involved concerns about personal protective equipment, which many hospitals faced shortages in the first months of the pandemic, as cases began to increase.
The information was collected as part of The Guardian and KHN’s nine-month investigative data project entitled “Lost on the Frontline”.
Health professionals are among the professionals considered essential first in line for the COVID-19 vaccine. The United States started vaccinating health workers and the elderly earlier this month.
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