According to various reports, it is estimated that over 900 frontline health workers have died of Covid-19 in the USA.
There has been a dire shortage of Personal Protective Equipments, N-95 masks, gloves, and gowns as the Coronavirus cases continue to surge in the United States of America. Team of local journalists, crowdsourcing, social media reports, online obituaries, and union reports over 922 healthcare workers have been identified to die of Covid-19 while working on the frontline from being in contact with COVID patients.
Independent research has confirmed and published names of 167 deaths and stories about the lives of the health workers who have lost their lives to Covid-19. Research is ongoing in confirming and adding names of victims every week.
Out of the 167 registered deaths, the majority of the victims have been identified as people of color. About one-third of the victims on the database have been identified as immigrants with the median age of 57. The record includes nurses’ physicians, pharmacists, hospital staff, cleaners, and first responders.
The majority of the deaths could have been prevented if there were proper steps and preparation taken from the government to tackle the new virus. Inadequate supply of protective gear and resistance to social distancing led to more patients into the hospitals, driving up the death toll.
Furthermore, The US government has failed to accurately keep records of the healthcare worker fatalities from Covid-19. New rules in handling the records under the Trump administration have led to the disappearance of vital information from the public eyes. Reports have resurfaced that the state officials have been aware since February that there will be a dire shortage of PPE. However, they failed to take any proper measures.
Moreover, information has dug upon how the families of the health workers who have passed away are suffering from contracted diseases. It is because of this that independent researchers and journalists are working together to dig up and record the immense and irreplaceable loss of the country.
