Healthcare workers have a seven-times increased risk of having severe Covid-19 as those with non-essential jobs, while those working in social care are two-and-a-half times as likely, research has found.
The University of Glasgow researchers said the findings demonstrated the importance of adequately protecting healthcare workers through health and safety standards, and PPE.
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The study compared 120,075 essential and non-essential workers using data from the UK Biobank – a long-term study tracking the development of disease in around half a million adults aged 49 to 64 – as well as Public Health England Covid-19 test results.
For those in health and social care posts, the higher risk of severe infection – defined as being hospitalised or dying with the virus – was linked to their jobs rather than socioeconomic circumstances, it found.
The study concluded: ‘Our findings reinforce the need for adequate health and safety arrangements and provision of PPE for essential workers, especially in the health and social care sectors.
‘The health and well-being of essential workers is critical to limiting the spread and managing the burden of global pandemics.’
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Of the people studied, 29% were essential workers in healthcare (9%), social care and education (11%), or other roles including police, transport and food preparation (9%). In all, 271 employees developed a severe Covid-19 infection.
Non-essential workers of black and Asian backgrounds were also more than three time as likely to develop severe Covid-19 as white non-essential workers, while black and Asian essential workers were more than eight times as likely to do so.
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The researchers stressed that the study cannot establish cause. The UK Biobank data was also collected more than a decade ago, between 2006 and 2010, and is not representative of the whole population.
