U.S. frontline workers and COVID-19 inequities.

Area of Science:

• Epidemiology
• Occupational Health
• Public Health

Background:

• Limited data exists on frontline worker status in COVID-19 datasets.
• Occupation is a suspected driver of COVID-19 disparities in the U.S.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the contribution of occupation to COVID-19 disparities.
• To compare infection rates between frontline and non-frontline workers.

Main Methods:

• Utilized national survey data from over 1 million U.S. respondents (Facebook-Carnegie Mellon University, Sept 2020-Mar 2021).
• Estimated odds of testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 (ever and within 14 days) for frontline vs. non-frontline workers.
• Controlled for education, political environment, and rural residence.

Main Results:

• Both healthcare and non-healthcare frontline workers had higher odds of ever testing positive for SARS-CoV-2.
• Non-healthcare frontline workers showed increased odds of recent (14-day) positive tests.
• Healthcare frontline workers had lower odds of recent positive tests.

Conclusions:

• Occupational exposure independently contributed to uneven SARS-CoV-2 spread.
• Non-healthcare frontline workers faced sustained higher infection risk.
• Future pandemic responses require recognizing structural factors like occupational stratification.