Nearly a quarter of adult U.S. workers are at higher risk for developing serious illness if they are infected with the coronavirus,due to their ageorunderlying health conditions, according to a new analysis of federal health data by theKaiser Family Foundation (KFF en ingles).
The researchers estimate that 37.7 million workers about 24 percent of the adult labor force are particularly vulnerable to serious complications from COVID-19, the illness brought on by the novel coronavirus.
That includes 10 million people ages 65 and over and 27.7 million younger adults with conditions identified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as risk factors for COVID-19, includingdiabetes,heart disease,moderate to severe asthma,chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD), severe obesity, and compromised immune systems due tocancer treatment.
Another 12 million at-risk adults who do not work, more than half of them 65-plus, are vulnerable to indirect exposure because they live with someone who works outside the home, the study found.
The research highlights challenges toworkplace safetyasstates ease stay-at-home restrictions, more businesses move toward reopening and more workersreturn to job sites.
“As an employer, I know that employers are largely on their own to develop policies to reopen safely, says Drew Altman, KFF’s president and CEO.
These data suggest employers should take into account the higher risk some workers will face, allowing them to work at home where possible, to be tested and to minimize their risks if they return to work.”
‘Creative approaches to work needed
The study utilizes 2018 data, the most recent available, from the CDC’s National Health Interview Survey to assess how many adult workers are at elevated risk for serious cases of COVID-19 if they contract the coronavirus.
The survey collects income and household information as well as health data, which KFF says allowed researchers to analyze how workers economic circumstances might intersect with coronavirus concerns.
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