At least 586 U.S. front-line healthcare workers have died of COVID-19, according to a new count published June 6 by The Guardian and Kaiser Health News.
The number is part of the news sites' "Lost on the Frontline" project. The project tracks healthcare worker deaths during the pandemic using data collected from family members, friends and colleagues of those who died, unions, media reports and other sources. It also memorializes healthcare workers who die of COVID-19.
The project's latest tally includes physicians, nurses and paramedics, as well as hospital janitors, administrators, nursing home workers and other healthcare support staff who were potentially exposed while caring for or supporting infected patients, according to The Guardian and KHN. It does not include the deaths of retired workers who were not working during the pandemic.
A majority of the 586 names in their internal database were identified as people of color, mostly African American and Asian/Pacific Islander, according to The Guardian and KHN.
The news sites said an updated count will be published twice weekly moving forward.
Click here for more information about the project. Click here to view the project's first 100 profiles of healthcare workers.