The Economic Burden of COVID-19 Infections amongst Health Care Workers

The health workforce is critical to global health security, but around the world, many health care workers (HCWs) lack even basic protections against infectious disease. The consequences are dire: HCWs face disproportionate risk of illness and death, exacerbating both the health and economic impacts of an outbreak, including through increased disease transmission and disruptions to essential health care services.

COVID-19 has proven to be no exception. But despite commitments to increase basic health care worker protections, progress has been limited. What’s urgently needed are safe facilities and health care worker protections, including systematic tracking of HCW infections and deaths, better infection prevention and control measures, adherence to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) standards, and comprehensive training, tools and resources for a safer health care workforce.

Protecting health workers benefits the entire society. Governments need to take leadership and responsibility to invest in the protection of health care workers and establish accountability mechanism to ensure measures are being implemented.