According to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 62,334 health care workers in the United States have been infected with COVID-19 and at least 291 have died. Just six weeks ago, on April 17, the CDC said infections among health care workers totaled 9,282, with 27 fatalities. The CDC admits that these numbers are likely an underestimation because only 21 percent of those who are infected identify their profession. In addition, there are low testing rates among health care providers, with the National Nurses United reporting that only 16 percent of nurses surveyed in a recent nationwide study had been tested.
With the national death toll continuing to rise and the need for health care workers greater than ever, nearly 1.5 million health care workers lost their jobs in March and April. While a majority of those laid off worked at dental practices and smaller outpatient practices, some mass layoffs occurred at hospitals overrun with COVID-19 patients.
At the same time, as part of the bipartisan CARES Act, the Department of Health and Human Services has granted $72 billion (with plans to disperse an additional $100 billion) to hospital groups, largely favoring some of the wealthiest institutions. A Kaiser Family Foundation study recently found that hospitals with a higher share of private insurance revenue received roughly twice as much CARES Act funding as poorer hospitals serving primarily Medicaid patients.
— source wsws.org | 28 May 2020