Abstract
Abstract Background Early in the COVID-19 pandemic disparities in hospitalizations and mortality rates were seen between race/ethnicities. Currently, the CDC reports that there is a 2.1× and 1.6× increase in risk of hospitalizations and deaths, respectively, for Black non-Hispanic (NH) persons when compared to White NH persons. Additionally, studies have found that Black and Hispanic individuals are more likely to test positive for SARS-CoV-2 as compared to other ethnicities/races. Many socioeconomic factors have been associated with increased risk, however, few if any, studies have investigated the disparities in SARS-CoV-2 exposure for healthcare workers. Methods To gain a better understanding of the risk of SARS-CoV-2 exposure in healthcare workers, EDTA plasma samples were collected from healthcare workers associated with the University of Maryland Medical System between June 1st, 2020, and August 31st, 2020. Plasma samples were tested for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Spike Ig/M/A Antibodies using an in-house developed Enzyme-linked Immunoassay and the Ortho Vitros COVID-19 Total Antibody assay. Results 7850 healthcare workers were enrolled (82.3% female). 26.7% were Black NH and 75.3% were White NH individuals. No differences were seen between age or sex between the two groups. Overall, the positivity rate for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies was 3.5%, however, when stratified by race/ethnicity 6.7% of Black NH individuals and 2.4% of White NH individuals were positive for Anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. When stratified by sex there were no statistically significant differences. Conclusion These findings suggest that Black NH healthcare workers were 2.6 times more likely to have been exposed to SARS-CoV-2 when compared to White NH individuals, irrespective of sex. Further understanding of the geographic and socioeconomic factors that play a role in these findings is needed. However, these findings suggest that heath disparities are prevalent and need to be addressed not only in the communities that our healthcare workers treat, but within our healthcare worker communities themselves.
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