Health care worker COVID-19 cases likely undercounted by CDC

Major gaps in data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) make it likely that more health workers developed or died from COVID-19 than CDC numbers would suggest. The agency reported that as of May 26, more than 63,000 health care workers developed COVID-19 and 307 of them died, but occupational status was indicated in only one fifth of the data the CDC collected and reviewed, and death status was available in only 57% of counted cases. With only a handful of states collecting data on COVID-19 cases and deaths among health workers, it is difficult to get an accurate national count. Such data could inform decisions organizations make to put effective measures in place to protect their employees. (Modern Healthcare story, 5/29/20)