It is becoming clear that the coronavirus crisis has had a major effect on the people working on the front lines. They have been collecting and transporting supplies, caring for sick and older people, and keeping streets and buildings clean. They have watched their co-workers get sick. Thousands have gotten sick themselves. Many have died. Front-line workers in the United States are mostly women and people of color, and are more likely to be immigrants. Workers who have been declared “essential” during the crisis are also more likely than the general population to live at or below the federal poverty line. That information comes from a recent report by The Associated Press, or AP. AP reporters looked at population data from the country’s 100 largest cities. “What is important about this pandemic is that it has shined a spotlight on workers who have always been essential but before this were invisible,” said David Michaels. He is a professor of environmental and occupational health at the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University.
