CMAAO Coronavirus Facts And Myth Buster: Healthcare workers” seroprevalence 5%

COVID-19 Often Undiagnosed in Frontline Hospital Workers

Reuters excerpts: A large number of COVID-19 infections among healthcare personnel in the US appear to go undetected, according to a report in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of the US Centers for Disease Control.

From April through June, among over 3,000 frontline workers across 12 states, approximately 1 in 20 had antibody evidence of a previous COVID-19 infection. Of note, 69% of those infections had never been diagnosed.

Among healthcare workers with antibodies to the novel coronavirus, nearly one-third did not recall having symptoms in the preceding months, about half of them did not suspect that they had been infected, and around two-thirds of them had never had a positive COVID-19 test.

Infections among frontline healthcare workers appear to be going undetected, as some infections may be minimally symptomatic or asymptomatic. Additionally, personnel with symptoms may not always have access to testing.

COVID-19 antibodies were less common among workers using a face covering for all patient encounters and more common among those who reporting a shortage of personal protective equipment.

Dr KK Aggarwal, President CMAAO, HCFI and Past National President IMA