Hundreds of health care workers - nurses, physicians, emergency medical technicians, respiratory therapists - have died as a consequence of COVID-19 infection acquired while caring for patients afflicted with the disease. Many thousands more have suffered from various stages of the disease. Their sacrifices are seldom, if ever, acknowledged during briefings held by the President, White House task force or by state officials.
Long hours, consecutive days of working 12-hour shifts, and shortages of personal protective equipment (masks, face shields, gloves, and gowns) are cited as contributing factors to their illnesses and deaths. Masks and gowns that are intended for use during a single day may have to be reused for a week.
Nurses and physicians of color are over-represented in the fatalities. One-third of health care workers who died from COVID-19 came from outside the United States. They compose a vital 18% of the work force.
"Lost on the Frontline," a data base compiled by Kaiser Health News and Guardian US, tallied 922 deaths among health care workers by mid-August. Their median age was 57 years compared to 78 years in the general population. Here is a sampler of these martyrs:
Reza Chowdhury, 58, practiced internal medicine in the Bronx. A native of Bangladesh, he immigrated to the U.S. 30 years ago and worked odd jobs while he completed his training. In addition to his private practice, he belonged to SOMOS, a network of immigrant nurses and doctors, who provide care for disadvantaged immigrants. He died in mid-April of COVID-19.
Sonia Brown, a registered nurse, 65, returned to work following her husband's death in June. A nurse for 38 years, she had worked in a South Florida hospital for years. She anticipated retirement in January. She died in July after contracting COVID-19, most likely at work.
Aleyamma John, a registered nurse, 65, emigrated with her husband from India to the Middle East, before arriving in the America. A nurse for four decades, she had worked since 2002 at the Queens Medical Center, a facility hard-hit by the pandemic. She became ill from COVID-19 in late March and died on April 5th.
Dr. Adeling Fagan, 28, was a second-year resident in obstetrics and gynecology at a Houston hospital. She volunteered for rotations in the emergency room to help care for patients suffering from COVID-19. She tested positive for the disease in early July. Her health rapidly deteriorated. She died in August.
David Joel Parea, 35, was a traveling registered nurse who was posted by his agency earlier this year to a Reno, Nevada, nursing home where one-fifth of residents suffered from COVID-19 infection. He died in April after contracting the disease.
Dr. Lorna M. Breen, 49, served as the head of the emergency department at a Manhattan hospital that was flooded with severely ill COVID-19 patients. She described patients dying in ambulances before they could be moved into an ER swamped with victims of the pandemic. She became ill with the virus and after a week and a half attempted to return to work. She was sent home to the care of her family. She died by own hand in April.
Governors who have declined to impose statewide mandates for wearing masks cite the need to protect individual liberties. Individuals cite the same liberties when refusing to wear masks. Perhaps a tour of an ER or an ICU where medical staff routinely place their lives at risk in caring for COVID-19 patients would convince the mask-naysayers of their selfish disregard for the safety of the health professionals who work the frontlines during this deadly pandemic.
Wear a mask for the sake of others, especially for the caregivers!
Contact Clif Cleaveland at ccleaveland@timesfreepress.com.