U.S. regulatory system failed to prevent thousands of deaths in frontline workers during the pandemic
Systemic U.S. reforms needed as part of the U.S. presidential election to protect the American public now and in the future, according to the new analysis
2024-01-30
(Press-News.org) An analysis published today in the The BMJ examines the risks faced by frontline workers in the United States during the pandemic and suggests reforms that could protect population health and save lives.
Lead author Professor David Michaels at the George Washington University and his colleagues note that from the onset laws and regulations in the United States inadequately protected frontline workers. The gaps allowed a rapid spread of disease in US workplaces like meat packing plants. At the same time, these essential workers were rarely seen as a population that needed special attention or protections.
“The consequences of these failures were appalling and led to tens of thousands of deaths in frontline workers,” said Michaels, who is a professor of environmental and occupational health at the GW Milken Institute School of Public Health. “The risk of exposure was exacerbated by race- and labor-related economic inequality, resulting in disproportionally more of the nation’s Black and Hispanic workers being killed or sickened by the virus.” Michaels also served as the administrator for the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration from 2009 to 2017, the longest serving administrator in the agency’s history.
Key findings from the analysis:
Covid-19 disproportionately affected workers who had to go to work to keep society functioning
Low-wage Black and Hispanic workers who could not work from home were disproportionately affected
Actions by US occupational and public health agencies fell far short of what was needed to make workplaces safe during the pandemic
Protecting worker health in the next pandemic requires action now for paid family and medical leave, better social supports and better workplace protections
The analysis, US workers during the covid-19 pandemic: uneven risks, protections and predictable consequences, was authored by Michaels, Emily Spieler at Northeastern University School of Law and Gregory Wagner at the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health.
The piece is the first of a series of articles on US lessons learned during the pandemic. The series was published in The BMJ on Jan. 29.
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Embargoed for release until 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday 29 January 2024
Annals of Internal Medicine Tip Sheet
@Annalsofim
Below please find summaries of new articles that will be published in the next issue of Annals of Internal Medicine. The summaries are not intended to substitute for the full articles as a source of information. This information is under strict embargo and by taking it into possession, media representatives are committing to the terms of the embargo not only on their own behalf, but also on behalf of the organization they represent.
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1. ...
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LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] U.S. regulatory system failed to prevent thousands of deaths in frontline workers during the pandemic
Systemic U.S. reforms needed as part of the U.S. presidential election to protect the American public now and in the future, according to the new analysis
