As the state struggles to vaccinate people against the coronavirus, a new UCSF study shows that essential workers, especially in the food and transportation industries, are at the greatest risk of death among working-age Californians. The authors suggest that employees go up in line for the photos.
Cooks, packaging machine operators, farm workers, bakers and construction workers are among the most risky jobs, the study found. Other occupations with a high risk of death include sewing machine operators, transport and reception clerks, maintenance workers, customer service workers, truck drivers, housekeepers and cleaners.
“Although we talk a lot with the essential workers, when you see the real occupations that top the list as much more at risk and associated with death, it screams to you that you are really at risk,” said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics from UCSF that worked on the study.
Researchers examined mortality rates for Californians aged 18 to 65 – a group that accounts for one-third of COVID-19 deaths – from March to October, and compared them with pre-pandemic statistics to determine which occupations had the highest increase in deaths. The study also evaluated race and different occupations.
Occupational data came from death certificates and were grouped into nine general categories. The riskiest category included agricultural and food workers – everyone from rural workers to food processors and refrigerators to cooks and others who work in restaurants – followed by transport and logistics: people who pack, dispatch and deliver goods, including drivers. Most of them, including cooks, farm workers and drivers, continue to work during confinement.
Adults working in the 18 to 65 age group experienced a 22% increase in deaths during the pandemic, according to the study. Food and agriculture workers, however, saw an increase of 39%, with transport and logistics workers having an increase of 28%, facility workers an increase of 27% and manufacturing workers an increase of 23% .
Most of these jobs are occupied by low-income workers who do not have the option of working from home and are often forced to work close to co-workers, the study said. Many do not have adequate personal protective equipment, such as masks and disinfectants, and do not have adequate medical licenses to allow them to stay at home without working if they are ill. In some cases, Bibbins-Domingo said, there is little application of social distance or sick leave requirements.
The study also found that Latin workers had a 36% increase in deaths during the pandemic and black workers had a 28% increase compared to a 6% increase for white workers. Some non-white workers saw particularly high jumps in deaths during the pandemic, the study found. Deaths among Asian health workers increased by 40% during the pandemic, while black retail workers saw an increase of 18%.
Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association in San Francisco, said the study was “obviously very worrying”.
“It’s not surprising when you see essential workers” on the list, she said.
Thomas, who owns two restaurants in the city, said he would like to see the data broken down by county, to compare how San Francisco, which has more restrictive measures, fared compared to other parts of the state. She said she only heard of a restaurant employee in San Francisco dying from COVID-19 and had three cases among her employees, two of which occurred when the restaurant was closed during the initial closure.
The study asks employers to provide adequate protective equipment for their workers, ensure adequate social distance and grant adequate medical licenses. It requires government agencies to enforce these requirements. It also suggests that the highest mortality rate – and the role of essential workers – be considered when deciding who should be prioritized for the limited number of vaccinations.
“What every Californian must recognize is that there are people who need to work, who need to work under conditions that put them at risk,” said Bibbins-Domingo. “Their work is essential work, that is, it is essential for all of us and they need to be taken into account”.
Michael Cabanatuan and Jill Tucker are editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @ctuan, @jilltucker