Nurses Account for Largest Group of Healthcare Providers With COVID-19 Infections

November 27, 2020 by Alec Stone MA, MPA, Former ONS Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy

Nurses on the front lines of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic are at greater risk of infection than other clinicians, according to the COVID-19 Associated Hospitalization Surveillance Network (COVID-NET) (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covid-net/purpose-methods.html), a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report. Nurse-related occupations, including nurses and certified nursing assistants, represent (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6943e3.htm?s_cid=mm6943e3_w) the largest proportion (36%) of healthcare providers (HCPs) hospitalized with COVID-19. The national survey brought to light what many nurses may have already known: nursing as a profession bears the brunt of the pandemic.

Lack of personal protective equipment (https://voice.ons.org/news-and-views/healthcare-industry-looks-to-public-amid-covid-19-ppe-supply-shortage) and workplace resources contributed to the increase in cases among nurses. Plus, the close contact that nurses have with patients creates an environment prone to infection. Nursing-related occupations also account for a large proportion of the United States’ healthcare workforce. In 2019, RN alone represented approximately one-third (https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat11.htm) of healthcare practitioners.

Patient aides and caregivers (6.6%) accounted for the next largest proportion of HCPs hospitalized with COVID-19. More than two-thirds (67.4%) of HCPs hospitalized with COVID-19 worked in occupations in which they were generally expected to have direct patient contact.  

Many of the 6,760 HCPs hospitalized from March 1–May 31, 2020, had indicators (https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6943e3.htm?s_cid=mm6943e3_w) of severe disease:

COVID-NET conducts population-based surveillance (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/covid-data/covid-net/purpose-methods.html) for laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 hospitalizations among more than 250 hospitals across 99 counties in 14 U.S. states:

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