SEATTLE — Hundreds of health care workers and dozens of first responders in Washington state have become sick with the coronavirus while on the job.
That’s according to workers’ compensation claims. This data provides some insight into how the coronavirus has impacted the health care community, but it’s an underestimation. The real number isn’t known because state and federal health officials have failed to collect the data.
Washington health officials don’t have complete data on the occupations of positive cases. And other states that reported coronavirus cases to the CDC only had job information for 16% of all cases.
Experts say knowing how COVID-19 is impacting front-line workers in the health care system is vital in handling the crisis.
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