According to a survey, COVID-19 risk to New York City firefighters and emergency medical personnel

Firefighters and emergency medical personnel in New York City were 15 times more likely to be infected during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the general public. ERJ Open Research.. [1]

The study, which includes almost all 15,000 front-line workers at the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), is also likely to suffer workers who had experienced poor lung health prior to the pandemic. Shows severe COVID-19 infection. That is, he was hospitalized or died.

Researchers support the proper use of PPE and other means to protect paramedics around the world and maintain paramedics’ capabilities during the subsequent wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. I say.

The study was done by David Prezant, FDNY Chief Medical Officer and Professor of Medicine at Albert Einstein Medical College, Michael Weiden, FDNY Chief Medical Officer and Professor of Medicine at New York University School of Medicine, and colleagues in New York, USA.

The survey included 14,290 FDNY frontline workers, the majority of all workers employed in the service earlier this March. Of these, 10,789 were firefighters and 3,501 were emergency medical service providers such as emergency medical technicians and emergency medical workers. At least twice before the pandemic, everyone had a test to assess lung health.

From early March to the end of May, a total of 5,175 FDNY frontline workers were found to have a positive virus on the COVID-19 PCR virus test or had the virus due to COVID-19 symptoms. I was suspicious of having it. That’s 36.2% of the FDNY frontline staff. In contrast, it is 2.4% of the city’s general population during the same period.

Sixty-two workers were classified as suffering from severe COVID-19 infection, and four died after the infection. Their serious COVID-19 illness and mortality rates are lower than the urban population, and researchers say they may be the result of “healthy workers’ effects” (all of the studies). People may be young and healthy on average because they worked).

Compared to firefighters, FDNY emergency health workers were at increased risk of infection and were five times more likely to develop severe COVID-19 infection.

The risk of severe COVID-19 infection was also high among workers who experienced poor lung health prior to the pandemic. This is measured by the amount of air that each worker can push out of the lungs per second, and a 100 ml reduction in air per year corresponds to a 71% increased risk of severe COVID-19 infection.

Dr. Pleasant said: “Our study emphasizes the high risk of COVID-19 infection in FDNY responders in response to a surge in pandemic-related emergency calls. All staff follow the same PPE protocol, but emergency medical personnel. May have been more exposed. COVID-19 is more than a firefighter, for example, while traveling to a hospital with a patient and undergoing treatment to help the patient breathe.

“These findings highlight the importance of protecting paramedics from countries around the world and maintaining the capacity of paramedics in the event of a subsequent pandemic wave. This highlights the importance of PPE. Not only does it imply proper use, but it also ensures that paramedics are vaccinated against the flu. COVID-19 vaccination, if available. “

Professor Anita Simmons, President of the European Respiratory Society, said: “We know that this group is primarily male and that males are at increased risk of COVID-19 infection. However, this study infects not only emergency health workers but also firefighters. Due to the nature of their work, they are inevitably in the house and in close contact with the general public and colleagues. No matter where we live in the world, we rely on them. For these major workers, we need to do everything we can to protect them.

“These findings also show that people with poor lung health are at increased risk of developing more serious infections, and those individuals may need additional protection or relocation in the workplace. It suggests that. ”

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