Healthcare workers of color get COVID-19 twice as often as white workers

Healthcare workers of color were more likely to care for patients with COVID-19, more likely to report using inadequate or reused protective gear and nearly twice as likely as white colleagues to test positive for the coronavirus, Harvard Medical School researchers found in a new study (Source: “Health Care Workers of Color Nearly Twice as Likely as Whites to Get COVID-19,” Kaiser Health News, Aug. 6, 2020).

The study, which was published in The Lancet, also showed that healthcare workers are at least three times more likely than the general public to report a positive COVID test, with risks rising for workers treating COVID patients.

Dr. Andrew Chan, a senior author and an epidemiologist at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the study further highlights the problem of structural racism, this time reflected in disparities in front-line roles and personal protective equipment provided to people of color.

“If you think to yourself, ‘Healthcare workers should be on equal footing in the workplace,’ our study really showed that’s definitely not the case,” said Chan, who is also a professor at Harvard Medical School.