Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Worker Safety During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Michaels, David; Wagner, Gregory R.

doi:10.1001/jama.2020.16343

Cited by 106 publications

(134 citation statements)

References 1 publication

(1 reference statement)

Supporting

Mentioning

115

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Our findings draw attention to four domains of promising policy response to reduce excess pandemic mortality among marginalized groups: workplace conditions, financial supports, healthcare coverage, and vaccine distribution. First, expanded action is needed, particularly in the manufacturing and food & agriculture sectors, to regulate and enforce workplace modifications to protect employees from SARS-CoV-2 exposure, provide workers with accurate information, and protect jobs if workers take sick leave or negotiate for safer conditions 28 . Second, most federal government programs in the U.S. to provide financial relief from the economic consequences of the pandemic have excluded undocumented individuals and the many Latinos in mixed status families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess death among Latino people in California during the COVID-19 pandemic

Riley¹,

Chen

Matthay³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundLatino people in the US are experiencing higher excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic than any other racial/ethnic group, but it is unclear which subgroups within this diverse population are most affected. Such information is necessary to target policies that prevent further excess mortality and reduce inequities.MethodsUsing death certificate data for January 1, 2016 through February 29, 2020 and time-series models, we estimated the expected weekly deaths among Latino people in California from March 1 through October 3, 2020. We quantified excess mortality as observed minus expected deaths and risk ratios (RR) as the ratio of observed to expected deaths. We considered subgroups defined by age, sex, place of birth, education, occupation, and combinations of these factors.FindingsDuring the first seven months of the pandemic, Latino deaths in California exceeded expected deaths by 10,316, a 31% increase. Excess death rates were greatest for individuals born in Mexico (RR 1.44; 95% PI, 1.41, 1.48) or Central America (RR 1.49; 95% PI, 1.37, 1.64), with less than a high school degree (RR 1.41; 95% PI, 1.35, 1.46), or in food-and-agriculture (RR 1.60; 95% PI, 1.48, 1.74) or manufacturing occupations (RR 1.59; 95% PI, 1.50, 1.69). Immigrant disadvantages in excess death were magnified among working-age Latinos in essential occupations.InterpretationThe pandemic has disproportionately impacted mortality among Latino immigrants and Latinos in unprotected essential jobs; Interventions to reduce these disparities should include early vaccination, workplace safety enforcement, and expanded access to medical care.FundingNational Institute on Aging; UCSFRESEARCH IN CONTEXTEvidence before this studySeveral articles have suggested all-cause excess mortality estimates are superior to official COVID-19 counts for assessing the impact of the pandemic on marginalized populations that lack access to testing and healthcare. We searched PubMed, Google scholar, and the medRxiv preprint database through December 22, 2020 for studies of (“excess mortality” or “excess death”) AND (“COVID-19” or “coronavirus”) set in the United States and we identified two empirical studies with estimates of excess mortality among Latinos during the pandemic. The study set in California (from our research team) found per capita excess mortality was highest among Black and Latino people. The national study found percent excess mortality was significantly higher among Latino people than any other racial/ethnic group. Neither study further disaggregated the diverse Latino population or provided subgroup estimates to clarify why excess pandemic mortality is so high in this population. In the U.S., official COVID-19 statistics are rarely disaggregated by place of birth, education, or occupation which has resulted in a lack of evidence of how these factors have impacted mortality during the pandemic. No study to date of excess mortality in the U.S. has provided estimates for immigrant or occupational subgroups.Added value of this studyOur population-based observational study of all-cause mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic provides the first estimates of within-group heterogeneity among the Latino population in California – one of the populations hardest hit by COVID-19 in the U.S. We provide the first subgroup estimates by place of birth and occupational sector, in addition to combined estimates by foreign-birth and participation in an essential job and education. In doing so, we reveal that Latino immigrants in essential occupations have the highest risk of excess death during the pandemic among working-age Latinos. We highlight the heightened risk of excess mortality associated with food/agriculture and manufacturing occupational sectors, essential sectors in which workers may lack COVID-19 protections.Implications of all the available evidenceOur study revealed stark disparities in excess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic among Latinos, pointing to the particularly high vulnerability of Latino immigrants and Latinos in essential jobs. These findings may offer insight into the disproportionate COVID-19 mortality experienced by immigrants or similarly marginalized groups in other contexts. Interventions to reduce these disparities should include policies enforcing occupational safety, especially for immigrant workers, early vaccination, and expanded access to medical care.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Excess death among Latino people in California during the COVID-19 pandemic

Riley¹,

Chen

Matthay³

et al. 2020

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…165 The risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in the healthcare workplace is based on reported estimates of 150,000 healthcare professionals infected and at least 700 who have died in the United States as of September 2020. 166 However, other factors must be considered. In addition, workers may contract the virus during travel to and from their jobs in crowded public or semiprivate transportation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, workers may contract the virus during travel to and from their jobs in crowded public or semiprivate transportation. 166 Protective measures adopted by the employer are effective to reduce viral dissemination in the workplace 167 and the absence of effective workplace controls has been associated with COVID-19 outbreaks in recently opened workplaces. 166 When managing a specific case of a high-risk worker, we recommend healthcare providers include an assessment of transportation used by the worker in addition to worksite control measures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Physician's Guide for Workers’ Return to Work During COVID-19 Pandemic

Baptista

Burton

Pawlecki

et al. 2020

Journal of Occupational &Amp; Environmental Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objective: Higher probability of developing severe COVID-19 has been associated with health risk factors and medical conditions which are common among workers globally. For at risk workers, return to work may require additional protective policies and procedures. Methods: A review of the medical literature was conducted on health risk factors and medical conditions associated with increased COVID-19 morbidity and mortality, standardized measures for community COVID transmission, and occupation-specific risk. Results: The relative risk of acquiring and the severity of COVID-19 for workers is associated with three pillars: individual risk, workplace risk, and community risk. Matrices were developed to determine a worker's individual risk based on these three pillars. Conclusions: A practical decision tool is proposed for physicians evaluating and managing individual worker COVID-19 risk in the context of returning to work.

show abstract

“…As the pandemic developed other occupational groups were identified to be at increased risk. These groups included emergency responders, health and nursing home staff, prison staff, those working in retail, hospitality, transport, tourism, construction and, most recently, workers in slaughterhouses and meat processing plants [ 1 ]. To the end of May 2020, in the USA, COVID-19 was diagnosed in 9.1% of 112 616 workers in affected meat and poultry processing facilities in 14 states where the total numbers of people employed in those facilities were known [ 2 ].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such workplace interventions are critical for controlling occupationally acquired COVID-19 in this at-risk group and among their close contacts. Inevitably, infected workers transport SARS-CoV-2 from work to their homes and communities, which sets back efforts to control transmission, morbidity and mortality [ 1 ].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%