Aspects of Frontline Worker Occupational and Demographic Factors on COVID-19 Frequency

As research shows Frontline workers have a higher risk for contracting COVID-19 than non-essential workers, this study aims to analyze what occupational factors may be contributing to this. We analyzed data from the BEEHIVE Study, and grouped healthcare workers, first responders, and other essential workers as Frontline Workers (N=608), and compared them to non-frontline workers (N=455) to see their COVID-19 frequency. We stratified for vaccination status and looked at the boosted (N=455) and non-boosted (N=153) within frontline workers. There was a significant difference in COVID-19 cases for the following factors: ages 18-49, making less than $24,000, making $50,000-75,000, and working in intensive care. We did not observe other occupational factors to have a significant difference in COVID-19 cases in the boosted or non-boosted frontline worker populations. This may suggest that the vaccine had a protective effect in these areas for our study population. There were a few limitations to our study: weekly surveys did not include occupational details that may change weekly, a possible risk of response bias, and a limited statistical power for some of our groups. Future research should consider the role of vaccination in specific occupational environments.