Mover 900 health care workers have died at Covid-19, according to an interactive database unveiled today by the Guardian and KHN. Lost on the Frontline is a collaborative effort between the two newsrooms that aims to count, verify, and remember every U.S. health care worker who dies during the pandemic.
It is the most comprehensive account of the deaths of American health care workers in the country.
As coronavirus cases increase – and severe shortages of rescue gear such as N-95 masks, jackets and gloves persist, the nation’s health workers are once again facing life-threatening conditions in southern and western states.
Through crowddsourcing and reports from colleagues, social media, online obituaries, labor unions and local media, reporters Lost on the Frontline have identified 922 health care workers who have died after decay from Covid-19.
A team of more than 50 journalists from the Guardian, KHN and journalism schools has been researching individual deaths for months to make sure they died from Covid-19, and that they were in fact working on the front lines in contact with Covid patients or at work places they were treated. The reporters also investigated the circumstances of her death, including her access to PPE, and followed up on family members, colleagues, union representatives and employers to comment on her death.
To date, we have independently confirmed 167 deaths and published their names, data and stories about their lives and how they are remembered. We continue to confirm additional victims and publish weekly new names.
The agreement includes doctors, nurses and paramedics, as well as crucial support staff such as hospital guards, administrators and nursing home workers, who risk their own lives during the pandemic to care for others.
Early data indicate that dozens have died who were unable to access adequate personal protective equipment and at least 35 underwent it after federal occupational safety officials received complaints about their workplaces. Early tallies also suggest that the majority of deaths among people were of color, and many were immigrants. But because this database is a work in progress, the early findings represent a fraction of the total reports and are not representative of all deaths of health care workers.
Of the 167 workers added to the Lost in Frontline database so far:
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A majority – 103 (62%) – were identified as people of color.
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At least 52 (31%) were reported to be inadequate personal protective equipment (PPE).
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The median age was 57 and ages ranged from 20 to 80, with 21 people (12%) under 40 years of age.
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About one-third – at least 53 – were born outside the United States, and 25 were from the Philippines.
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The majority of the dead, 103, were in April, after the initial rise on the east coast.
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Roughly 38% – 64 – were nurses, but the total also includes doctors, pharmacists, first responders and hospital technicians, among others
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At least 68 people live in New York and New Jersey, two states hit hard at the start of the pandemic, followed by Illinois and California.
Some of these deaths were prevented. Poor preparation, government mismanagement and an overcrowded health care system increased that risk. Lack of access to tests, a nationwide shortage of protective equipment, and resistance to social distance and mask-wearing have forced more patients into overcrowded hospitals and raised the death toll.
Gaps in government data have increased the need for independent tracking. The federal government has failed to accurately count deaths of health care workers. As of August 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 592 deaths among health workers – but the organization does not name specific names and has admitted this is an undercount.
Recent moves by the White House underscore the need for public data and accountability. In July, the Trump administration ordered health facilities to send data on hospitalizations and deaths of Covid-19 directly to the Department of Health and Human Services, by preventing the CDC. In the following days, important information about the pandemic disappeared from the public eye. (The data was later restored following a public outcry, but the agency indicated it could no longer update the figures due to a change in federal reporting requirements.)
Reporters from Lost on the Frontline have compiled hundreds of potential cases through crowddsourcing and reports from colleagues, social media, online obituaries, labor unions and local media. They confirm each death independently before publishing names, data and obituaries.
Exclusive reports from reporters have revealed that many healthcare professionals use surgical masks that are far less effective than N-95 masks and have put them at risk. Emails received via a request for public records showed that federal and state officials in late February were aware of the very shortage of PPE.
Further investigations found that health workers who carried the coronavirus and their families are now struggling to gain access to death and other benefits in the workers’ compensation system. Our report also examined the deaths of 19 health care workers under the age of 30 who died from Covid-19.
We continue to collect the names of health care workers who have died and dig into why so many fall ill. We welcome tips and feedback at [email protected] and [email protected].
Melissa Bailey and Christina Jewett contributed to this story.
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