- A study published by JAMA Internal Medicine on Monday found that an astounding number of people called out sick from work this April, Gizmodo first reported.
- The study utilized the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS) and found that 1 million more Americans were absent from work this April compared to last April.
- In April 2019, roughly 920,000 people called out sick. In April 2020, that number skyrocketed to 2.02 million. For comparison, the number of those who called out sick in January and February were similar in both 2019 and 2020.
- This number – or 1.51% of all job holders – calling out sick is the highest number ever recorded in the CPS. The increase in work absences surged in line with coronavirus hospitalizations and deaths.
- That number does not account for those who were jobless at the time – by April, over 20 million had lost their jobs due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- The study found immigrant workers called out sick more often than non-immigrant workers in April, but immigrant workers normally call out sick less.
- “Our study indicates that the pandemic has sickened many more people than we had realized, especially vulnerable employees like immigrants,” Dr. Adam Gaffney, an author on the study and a pulmonary specialist at Harvard Medical School, wrote in a statement.
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