Doctors made up 5.2 per cent of the Covid-19 cases
among healthcare workers (HCWs) notified to the Health Protection Surveillance
Centre (HPSC) during the second half of September, according to recent data
from the centre.
Females HCWs account for nearly three quarters of
the total number of HCWs who have got Covid-19 since the beginning of the
pandemic (74.2 per cent).
According to the HPSC, there were 233 HCWs notified
to the computerised infectious disease reporting (CIDR) system in the 14-day
period between 15 September and 28 September.
Over half of these HCWs, 125 (53.6 per cent) are reported as residing in Dublin. A total
of 12 doctors were registered as having Covid-19, which was 5.2 per cent of the
total number of HCWs Covid-19 for this period during the second half of last
month.
Nurses made up the highest number of HCWs with 63
cases during this period, which is 27 per cent of the total during this period.
There was a total of 36,217 Covid-19 cases reported
as of 28 September; of this number, 9,225 were healthcare workers (HCWs).
This figure represents just over a quarter of the
total (25.5 per cent).
The total number of deaths of HCWs during the
pandemic is eight, with the HPSC noting that this comprised “seven confirmed
and one probable Covid-19 case.”
Some 332 HCWs have been hospitalised with Covid-19
since the beginning of the outbreak, according to the HPSC figures.
Of the total number of HCWs who have got Covid-19,
just under three quarters (74.2 per cent) were female.
“The proportion of females is
disproportionately high among HCWs Covid-19 cases compared to non-HCW Covid-19
cases (48.5 per cent),” according to the HPSC.
“[This is]most likely due to some HCW
specialities e.g. nursing, being female dominated.”
Also, this month the PRECISE study begins which will
look at rates of previous Covid -19 infections in healthcare workers in St
James’s Hospital, Dublin and University Hospital Galway.
“It will help the health services to broadly
estimate the number of healthcare workers that may have some degree of immunity
to Covid-19 infection and those that are still at risk of contracting the
virus,” Dr Lorraine Doherty, HSE National Clinical Director for Health
Protection said of the study.
“It will identify the proportion of healthcare
staff who have the antibodies present but were asymptomatic and therefore
possible unaware of their exposure to the virus. All of the information gained from this study
will ultimately help the health services prepare for increasing number of
cases.”
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