The LA Times wrote about Mexico:
In Mexico, there is a disconnect between healthcare workers’ persistent complaints about a lack of safety equipment and government assurances that all is well.
Since the first coronavirus case was recorded in Mexico in late February, doctors, nurses and others have regularly taken to the streets to protest a lack of sanitary gear.
. . . In recent weeks, Mexican authorities have hailed the arrival of more than a dozen jumbo jets ferrying tons of supplies from China. But practitioners call much of the gear unusable — wobbly face shields, flimsy gowns and boot covers, and slender masks providing minimal protection. Many workers purchase their own equipment online or from local distributors.
I believe it was on Twitter where I saw health care workers laughing at the personal protective equipment that was arriving from China. Here's a perfect example of the government saying they've bought enough protective equipment, but when the boxes are opened up, those who actually need it realize the product is junk.
The article also mentions that 11,000 healthcare workers have come down with the virus and 149 have died. That would be a CFR % of 1.4. The article also mentions that there are 8,275 "suspicious" cases which would total 19,275. Let's call that an IFR % of 0.8%.
ABC News reports about the United States:
More than 62,000 doctors, nurses and other health care providers on the front lines of the U.S.'s COVID-19 crisis have been infected, and at least 291 have died, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.
. . . In the April analysis, the median age of sick workers was 42. Nearly three-quarters were women. Those statistics were not made available in the new report.
Since that number is just based on those who identify as healthcare workers, let's say that this is a CFR % of 0.5%.
NPR reports on Yemen:
Thierry Durand, MSF's [Doctors Without Borders] coordinator of operations in southern Yemen, said the organization's staff there is sometimes left feeling "powerless." Speaking to NPR shortly after leaving Aden as part of his work rotation, he described medical teams working day and night even as patients, colleagues and loved ones died before them.
. . . The staff is also directly affected. Between the COVID-19 clinic and another hospital in the city where staff work, Durand said 40 of MSF's health care workers are sick – some from diseases such as dengue but many from the coronavirus.
Yemen will be one of those countries where deaths associated with the coronavirus are going to be far higher than the official counts.
Al Jazeera reports on Egypt:
Egypt's medical union blamed the government for the rise in coronavirus infections and deaths among healthcare professionals, warning of a "complete collapse" of the country's health system.
. . . The union reported 19 doctors have died and 350 contracted the virus, according to official figures, although testing of medical staff remains limited.
Let's call that a CFR % of 5.4%.
The reason I'm talking about CFR % and IFR % is because we know that the CDC is targeting the IFR % at less than 0.3% while the University of Washington is targeting a IFR-S of 1.3%. Though deaths will continue to increase for health care workers, we can say for now that in the United States, the CFR % (the IFR % would be much lower) is close to the CDC estimate. In Mexico, the rate is somewhat in the middle of the two estimates. In Egypt, it is currently way beyond the University of Washington estimate though one would suspect that the total infected figure is under-counted.
One has to realize; however, that the CFR % and IFR % are much higher for the elderly and we probably can assume that health care workers are mostly under the age of 65. So this data on health care workers might make one question the estimates that the CDC came up with. Though on the other hand, health care workers are probably exposed to a much higher virus load than the rest of the population, which it is my understanding can have a major impact on how the body responds to the virus.
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