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. 2022 Oct 3;75(Suppl 2):S216-S224.
doi: 10.1093/cid/ciac486.

Reported Exposures Among In-Person Workers With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection in 6 States, September 2020-June 2021

Hannah Free  1 , Sara E Luckhaupt  1 , Rachael M Billock  1 , Matthew R Groenewold  1 , Sherry Burrer  2 , Marie Haring Sweeney  1 , Jessie Wong  3 , Kathryn Gibb  3 , Andrea Rodriguez  3 , Ximena P Vergara  4 , Kristin J Cummings  5 , Antionette Lavender  6 , Gabriel Argueta  6 , Hannah Leigh Crawford  6 , Kimberly Erukunuakpor  6 , Nicole D Karlsson  7 , Karla Armenti  8 , Hannah Thomas  7 , Kim Gaetz  9 , Gialana Dang  9   10 , Laurel Harduar-Morano  11   12 , Komi Modji  13
Affiliations

Reported Exposures Among In-Person Workers With Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) Infection in 6 States, September 2020-June 2021

Hannah Free et al. Clin Infect Dis. .

Abstract

Background: Surveillance systems lack detailed occupational exposure information from workers with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health partnered with 6 states to collect information from adults diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection who worked in person (outside the home) in non-healthcare settings during the 2 weeks prior to illness onset.

Methods: The survey captured demographic, medical, and occupational characteristics and work- and non-work-related risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. Reported close contact with a person known or suspected to have SARS-CoV-2 infection was categorized by setting as exposure at work, exposure outside of work only, or no known exposure/did not know. Frequencies and percentages of exposure types are compared by respondent characteristics and risk factors.

Results: Of 1111 respondents, 19.4% reported exposure at work, 23.4% reported exposure outside of work only, and 57.2% reported no known exposure/did not know. Workers in protective service occupations (48.8%) and public administration industries (35.6%) reported exposure at work most often. More than one third (33.7%) of respondents who experienced close contact with ≥10 coworkers per day and 28.8% of respondents who experienced close contact with ≥10 customers/clients per day reported exposures at work.

Conclusions: Exposure to occupational SARS-CoV-2 was common among respondents. Examining differences in exposures among different worker groups can help identify populations with the greatest need for prevention interventions. The benefits of recording employment characteristics as standard demographic information will remain relevant as new and reemerging public health issues occur.

Keywords: COVID-19 surveillance; SARS-CoV-2 infection; occupational exposure.

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Conflict of interest statement

Potential conflicts of interest. N. D. K. reports participating in the CDC–Environmental Public Health Tracking cooperative agreement NUE1EH001357. K. A. reports funding from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH); participation in cooperative agreement 010910; and receipt of funds from the Council for State and Territorial Epidemiologists for travel to attend the June 2022 annual conference. G. D. is employed by the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and their position and work were supported through funding by a cooperative grant agreement between NIOSH and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, State Occupational Health and Safety Surveillance Program (U60) series; is a paid full-time employee of CDC-NIOSH-WSD; and performed manuscript peer review and methods consultation work. J. W. reports that their employment is supported by funding from the CDC Agreement 6 NU50CK000539 and receipt of institutional funding from NIOSH. K. G. reports receipt of institutional funding from NIOSH; an ELC grant through cooperative agreement 6 NU50CK000539; and NIOSH Callback Survey contract 75D30120P08814 and NIOSH North Carolina Occupational Health and Surveillance Program grant 2 U60OH010909-06-00. K. K. S. M. reports a CDC grant from the Wisconsin Fundamental-Plus Occupational Health Surveillance (project grant 6 U60OH010898-05-01) and 2 short-term contracts from the Worker’s Compensation Program at the CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (75D30121P10334 and 75D30121P11161). K. J. C. reports receipt of institutional funding for their institution from NIOSH. X. V. reports that their employment is supported by funding from the CDC through cooperative agreement 6 NU50CK000539 and reports being part of the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Occupational Health Subcommittee Leadership Committee. All remaining authors: No reported conflicts of interest. All authors have submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.

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