Respiratory Health Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.
Western States Division, NIOSH, CDC, Denver, Colorado, USA.
Am J Ind Med. 2021 Sep;64(9):723-730. doi: 10.1002/ajim.23281. Epub 2021 Aug 3.
Transit workers have jobs requiring close public contact for extended periods of time, placing them at increased risk for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 infection and more likely to have risk factors for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)-related complications. Collecting timely occupational data can help inform public health guidance for transit workers; however, it is difficult to collect during a public health emergency. We used nontraditional epidemiological surveillance methods to report demographics and job characteristics of transit workers reported to have died from COVID-19.
We abstracted demographic and job characteristics from media scans on COVID-19 related deaths and reviewed COVID-19 memorial pages for the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU) and Transport Workers Union (TWU). ATU and TWU provided a list of union members who died from COVID-19 between March 1-July 7, 2020 and a total count of NYC metro area union members. Peer-reviewed publications identified through a scientific literature search were used to compile comparison demographic statistics of NYC metro area transit workers. We analyzed and reported characteristics of ATU and TWU NYC metro area decedents.
We identified 118 ATU and TWU NYC metro area transit worker COVID-19 decedents with an incidence proportion of 0.3%. Most decedents were male (83%); median age was 58 years (range: 39-71). Median professional tenure was 20 years (range: 2-41 years). Operator (46%) was the most reported job classification. More than half of the decedents (57%) worked in positions associated with close public contact.
Data gathered through nontraditional epidemiological surveillance methods provided insight into risk factors among this workforce, demonstrating the need for mitigation plans for this workforce and informing transit worker COVID-19 guidance as the pandemic progressed.
交通工作者的工作需要长时间与公众密切接触，使他们感染严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 的风险增加，并且更有可能存在与 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）相关并发症相关的危险因素。及时收集职业数据有助于为交通工作者提供公共卫生指导；然而，在公共卫生紧急情况下，这很难做到。我们使用非传统的流行病学监测方法来报告据报道死于 COVID-19 的交通工作者的人口统计学和工作特征。
我们从与 COVID-19 相关死亡的媒体扫描中提取人口统计学和工作特征，并审查了联合运输工会（ATU）和运输工人工会（TWU）的 COVID-19 纪念网页。ATU 和 TWU 提供了一份在 2020 年 3 月 1 日至 7 月 7 日期间死于 COVID-19 的工会成员名单，以及纽约市地铁区工会成员的总数。通过科学文献搜索确定的同行评审出版物用于汇编纽约市地铁区交通工作者的比较人口统计学统计数据。我们分析并报告了 ATU 和 TWU 纽约市地铁区死者的特征。
我们确定了 118 名 ATU 和 TWU 纽约市地铁区交通工作者 COVID-19 死亡病例，发病率为 0.3%。大多数死者为男性（83%）；中位年龄为 58 岁（范围：39-71 岁）。中位数专业任期为 20 年（范围：2-41 年）。运营商（46%）是报告最多的工作类别。超过一半的死者（57%）从事与密切公众接触相关的职位。
通过非传统的流行病学监测方法收集的数据深入了解了该劳动力的危险因素，表明需要为该劳动力制定缓解计划，并随着大流行的发展为交通工作者提供 COVID-19 指导。
