New study ranks riskiest jobs in California during pandemic

As state struggles to immunize people against coronavirus, new UCSF study shows essential workers, especially in food and transportation industries, at greatest risk of death among Californians of working age. The authors suggest that employees be moved to the top for the shots.

Cooks, packaging machine operators, farm workers, bakers and construction workers are among the riskiest jobs, according to the study. Other occupations at high risk of death include sewing machine operators, shipping and receiving clerks, maintenance workers, customer service workers, truck drivers, housekeepers and cleaners.

“While we only pay lip service to essential workers, when you see the actual occupations that top the list as much more at risk and associated with death, it screams out to you who are really at risk,” said Kirsten Bibbins-Domingo, professor of epidemiology and biostatistics at UCSF who worked on the study.

Researchers looked at death rates for Californians between the ages of 18 and 65 – a group that accounts for one-third of COVID-19 deaths – from March through October, and compared them to pre-pandemic statistics to determine which occupations experienced the largest increases in deaths. The study also assessed race and different occupations.

Occupational data was taken from death certificates and was grouped into nine general categories. The riskiest category included food and agriculture workers – everyone from farm workers to food processors and meat packers to cooks and others who work in restaurants – followed by transport and logistics: people who pack, ship and deliver goods, including drivers. Most of them, including cooks, farm workers and drivers, continue to work during the lockdown.

According to the study, active adults between the ages of 18 and 65 saw a 22% increase in deaths during the pandemic. However, food and agriculture workers saw an increase of 39%, with transport and logistics workers seeing a 28% increase, facility workers a 27% increase, and industry an increase of 23%.

Most of these jobs are held by low-income workers who have no choice but to work from home and are often forced to work near co-workers, according to the study. Many do not have appropriate personal protective equipment like masks and disinfectant, and do not have sufficient sick leave that allows them to stay home from work if they are ill. In some cases, Bibbins-Domingo said, social distancing or sick leave requirements are poorly enforced.

The study also found that Latin American workers had a 36% increase in deaths during the pandemic, and black workers had a 28% increase compared to a 6% increase for white workers. Some non-white workers have seen particularly high jumps in deaths during the pandemic, according to the study. Deaths among Asian healthcare workers rose 40% during the pandemic, while black retail workers saw an 18% increase.

Laurie Thomas, executive director of the Golden Gate Restaurant Association in San Francisco, said the study was “obviously of great concern.”

“It’s no surprise to see essential workers” on the list, she said.

Thomas, who owns two restaurants in the city, said she would like to see the data broken down by county, to compare the performance of San Francisco, which has more restrictive measures, against other parts of the state. She said she had only heard anecdotally that a restaurant worker in San Francisco had died of COVID-19 and had three cases among her employees, two of which occurred when the restaurant was closed during the closure initial.

The study asks employers to provide adequate protective equipment to their workers, to ensure good social distancing and to grant adequate sick leave. He calls on government agencies to enforce these requirements. He also suggests that the higher death rate – and the role of essential workers – be taken into account when deciding who to prioritize for the limited number of vaccinations.

“What every Californian should recognize is that there are people who have to be at work, who have to work in conditions that put them at risk,” said Bibbins-Domingo. “Their work is essential, meaning essential for all of us, and they must be taken into account.”

Michael Cabanatuan and Jill Tucker are editors of the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: [email protected], [email protected] Twitter: @ctuan, @jilltucker