Better but still worse? Canada has lower COVID-19 infections among health workers but still has higher rates than peer countries

The rate of Canadian healthcare workers who got infected with COVID-19 relative to the rest of the population declined dramatically this year compared to last year, according to new data from the Canadian Institute of Health Information. But compared to France, Germany and the United States, Canada has the dubious distinction of having the highest proportion of COVID-19 cases that are healthcare workers, with France and the U.S. coming in at just under 2% and Germany at about 2.5%. “But we need to interpret this data with a bit of caution,” said Dr. Lynn McNeely, CIHI’s manager of health workforce information. “There can be different test practices, data collection and reporting standards in these other countries, so we have to keep in mind that who they define as healthcare workers vary. But the data provides an overall snapshot that can get people talking and trying to get a better understanding of what’s going on.” As of June 15, healthcare workers accounted for just under 7% of COVID infections in the country—a drop from close 10% in January and just over 19% in July 2020. The actual number of cases, however, has continued to rise: almost 95,000 in June, compared to 66,000 in January and close to 22,000 in July 2020. Since the start of the pandemic and up to June 15, 43 healthcare workers have died from COVID-19. Read: Quebec premier issues vaccine mandate for healthcare workers Among the country’s healthcare workers hit with COVID-19, personal support workers have accounted for the highest numbers. As of April 26, PSWs accounted for 567 out of 10,000 cases. Nurses accounted for 317 and physicians accounted for 170 out of 10,000 positive cases. “PSWs have 3.3 times greater risk of contracting COVID-19 than physicians,” said Dr. McNeely. “We haven’t delved into the reasons for this because there’s a gap in data for PSWs in this country, but we know they are likely to work part-time and to have multiple jobs in different facilities, so there’s increased risk of exposure.” Miranda Ferrier, CEO of the Ontario Personal Support Worker Association, said in a statement that CIHI’s findings regarding PSWs come as no surprise. “We are not surprised to hear that personal support workers are at a significant higher risk of contracting COVID-19 as they perform the majority of personal care on our patients, residents and clients across Ontario,” she said. “The personal support worker was and still is at very high risk.” Dr. McNeely said that while the actual number of COVID-19 cases among healthcare workers has continued to rise, she is encouraged by the declining rates relative to total cases. She attributed the latter to measures such as improved access to personal protective equipment and prioritization of healthcare workers for COVID-19 vaccination. "We need to ensure that those at the heart of healthcare delivery remain healthy themselves," she said. Read: Ontario’s LTC COVID-19 commission calls for more staff, better ties to healthcare partners

Better but still worse? Canada has lower COVID-19 infections among health workers but still has higher rates than peer countries

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