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Chea N, Eure T, Alkis Ramirez R, Zlotorzynska M, Blazek GT, Nadle J, Lee J, Czaja CA, Johnston H, Barter D, Kellogg M, Emanuel C, Meek J, Brackney M, Carswell S, Thomas S, Fridkin SK, Wilson LE, Perlmutter R, Marceaux-Galli K, Fell A, Lovett S, Lim S, Lynfield R, Shrum Davis S, Phipps EC, Sievers M, Dumyati G, Myers C, Hurley C, Licherdell E, Pierce R, Ocampo VLS, Hall EW, Wilson C, Adre C, Kirtz E, Markus TM, Billings K, Plumb ID, Abedi GR, James-Gist J, Magill SS, Grigg CT. Characteristics of healthcare personnel with SARS-CoV-2 infection: 10 emerging infections program sites in the United States, April 2020-December 2021. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2024; 45:1-9. [PMID: 38770586 PMCID: PMC11518671 DOI: 10.1017/ice.2024.71] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Understanding characteristics of healthcare personnel (HCP) with SARS-CoV-2 infection supports the development and prioritization of interventions to protect this important workforce. We report detailed characteristics of HCP who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 from April 20, 2020 through December 31, 2021. METHODS CDC collaborated with Emerging Infections Program sites in 10 states to interview HCP with SARS-CoV-2 infection (case-HCP) about their demographics, underlying medical conditions, healthcare roles, exposures, personal protective equipment (PPE) use, and COVID-19 vaccination status. We grouped case-HCP by healthcare role. To describe residential social vulnerability, we merged geocoded HCP residential addresses with CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) values at the census tract level. We defined highest and lowest SVI quartiles as high and low social vulnerability, respectively. RESULTS Our analysis included 7,531 case-HCP. Most case-HCP with roles as certified nursing assistant (CNA) (444, 61.3%), medical assistant (252, 65.3%), or home healthcare worker (HHW) (225, 59.5%) reported their race and ethnicity as either non-Hispanic Black or Hispanic. More than one third of HHWs (166, 45.2%), CNAs (283, 41.7%), and medical assistants (138, 37.9%) reported a residential address in the high social vulnerability category. The proportion of case-HCP who reported using recommended PPE at all times when caring for patients with COVID-19 was lowest among HHWs compared with other roles. CONCLUSIONS To mitigate SARS-CoV-2 infection risk in healthcare settings, infection prevention, and control interventions should be specific to HCP roles and educational backgrounds. Additional interventions are needed to address high social vulnerability among HHWs, CNAs, and medical assistants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Chea
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Taniece Eure
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Rebecca Alkis Ramirez
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Maria Zlotorzynska
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Gregory T Blazek
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Chenega Enterprise Systems and Solutions, LLC, Chesapeake, VA, USA
| | - Joelle Nadle
- California Emerging Infections Program, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Jane Lee
- California Emerging Infections Program, Oakland, CA, USA
| | | | - Helen Johnston
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Devra Barter
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Melissa Kellogg
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
| | - Catherine Emanuel
- Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver, CO, USA
| | - James Meek
- Connecticut Emerging Infections Program, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Monica Brackney
- Connecticut Emerging Infections Program, Yale School of Public Health, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Stacy Carswell
- Georgia Emerging Infections Program, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Foundation for Atlanta Veterans Education and Research, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Stepy Thomas
- Georgia Emerging Infections Program, Atlanta Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Foundation for Atlanta Veterans Education and Research, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Scott K Fridkin
- Georgia Emerging Infections Program, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | | | | | - Ashley Fell
- Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Sara Lovett
- Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | - Sarah Lim
- Minnesota Department of Health, St. Paul, MN, USA
| | | | - Sarah Shrum Davis
- New Mexico Emerging Infections Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
| | - Erin C Phipps
- New Mexico Emerging Infections Program, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, USA
- New Mexico Department of Health, Santa Fe, NM, USA
| | | | - Ghinwa Dumyati
- New York Emerging Infections Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Christopher Myers
- New York Emerging Infections Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Christine Hurley
- New York Emerging Infections Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Erin Licherdell
- New York Emerging Infections Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Rebecca Pierce
- Public Health Division, Oregon Health Authority, Portland, OR, USA
| | | | - Eric W Hall
- Oregon Health and Science University and Portland State University School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | | | - Cullen Adre
- Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Erika Kirtz
- Tennessee Department of Health, Nashville, TN, USA
| | | | | | - Ian D Plumb
- Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Glen R Abedi
- Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jade James-Gist
- Division of Viral Diseases, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Shelley S Magill
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Cheri T Grigg
- Division of Healthcare Quality Promotion, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA
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