Support staff may face higher COVID-19 risk than clinicians, study finds

Support staff at a New Jersey hospital were more likely to test positive for COVID-19 or virus antibodies compared to physicians and nurses, according to a study published in Open Forum Infectious Diseases.  Researchers screened more than 3,900 employees at New Brunswick, N.J.-based Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital for COVID-19 and antibodies between April 28 and June 30. Thirteen employees tested positive for the virus and 374 had virus antibodies. Results were assessed in relation to demographic and occupational characteristics. Phlebotomists accounted for nearly 24 percent of positive COVID-19 or antibody tests, followed by maintenance/housekeeping staff (17.3 percent), dining/food services employees (16.9 percent) and interpersonal/support staff (13.7 percent). Physicians and nurses had lower positivity rates at 7.2 percent and 9.1 percent, respectively.  To read the full story.