JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association
Vol. 324, Issue 4, Pages 388–390
July 2020
HKS Authors
See citation below for complete author information.
Roy E. Larsen Professor of Public Policy
Ethel Zimmerman Wiener Professor of Public Policy, HKS; Henry and Allison McCance Professor of Business Administration, HBS
Abstract
The label of “essential worker” reflects society’s needs but does not mean that society has compensated those workers for additional risks incurred on the job during the current pandemic. When an essential worker contracts severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), they pose a risk to the other members of their household. These members may be elderly or lack health insurance, and the household may have limited resources to care for a sick family member.1,2 We assessed the proportion of essential workers in the US population and described the economic vulnerability of their households.
Citation
McCormack, Grace, Christopher Avery, Ariella Kahn-Lang Spitzer, and Amitabh Chandra. "Economic Vulnerability of Households With Essential Workers." JAMA: Journal of the American Medical Association 324.4 (July 2020): 388–390.