The proposed COVID-19 Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2020 aimed to protect healthcare workers from exposure to COVID-19 through requiring the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to establish safety standards. The main influence on the policy was the physical environment of healthcare workers, who have high rates of COVID-19 infection due to constant exposure to infected patients. Evidence showed that healthcare workers tested positive for COVID-19 at significantly higher rates than the general population, and it was recommended that all healthcare workers receive adequate personal protective equipment. While the Act did not pass, the evidence demonstrated the significant exposure of healthcare workers compared to the general public, highlighting the need for measures to protect them from the virus both short and long-term.

1. Health policies must be based on evidence-based facts to have
significant impacts on population health. This discussion
analyses the proposed COVID-19 Health Care Worker
Protection Act of 2020. This policy required the Occupational
Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to protect health
workers from exposure to the coronavirus that causes the
occurrence of COVID-19. The policy was expected to protect
healthcare workers and other workers considered to be at high
risk for SAR-CoV-2 exposure (Congress.gov, 2020). The policy
would ensure protection for healthcare workers in the private
and public sectors. The policy would not only provide a
temporary standard for the protection of workers during the
COVID-19 epidemic but also provide a permanent measure for
the long-term protection of healthcare providers from COVID-
19.
The main socio-determinant of health influencing the policy is
the physical environment of healthcare workers. According to
Razvi et al. (2020), healthcare workers have a high COVID-19
infection because they are constantly exposed to patients with
the infection. The disease can easily spread from one individual
to another through behaviors such as sneezing, coughing,
touching contaminated surfaces, being in crowded
environments, and poor hand hygiene. While they are in their
line of work, they are likely to get contact with the coronavirus
in one way or another hence predisposing them to the serious
effects of the disease and even death. The fact that healthcare
workers spend a lot of time working in a high-risk environment
with biohazard exposure increases their chances of contracting
the disease at higher rates compared to the general population.
For that reason, the healthcare providers ‘physical environment
largely influenced the policy and measures must be put in place
as recommended by the COVID-19 Health Care Worker

2. Protection Act of 2020 to protect the healthcare workers
population.
There is sufficient evidence base to support the proposed
policy. Razvi et al.(2020) explored the extent of exposure of
hospital-based healthcare workers to COVID-19.It was found
that the percentage of healthcare workers who tested positive
for the coronavirus was significantly higher (19.4%) than the
general population (6.8%). The healthcare workers (HCWs)
without direct patient management roles also had a high
positivity rate of the virus(12.3%) compared to the general
population. For that reason, it was recommended that all HCWs
should be provided with adequate personal protection equipment
(PPEs) to protect them from contracting the virus while on their
line of duty. Atnafie et al. (2021) also acknowledged that
frontline healthcare workers are directly exposed to the COVID-
19 pandemic and hence are highly exposed to its infection. Poor
COVID-19 prevention measures among HCWs could lead to
increased exposure to the disease, delayed identification, and
treatment of the disease hence a rapid spread of the disease to
the HCWs. It was also found that there was poor adherence to
PPEs among the HCWs and aseptic healthcare practices among
the HCWs. Atnafie et al. (2021) recommended the
implementation of sustainable and effective measures to protect
high-risk HCWs from COVID-19 infection. Although the
proposed Health Care Worker Protection Act of 2020 was not
passed into law, it had a sufficient evidence base indicating the
significant exposure of HCWs to COVID-19 compared to the
general population hence the need to put in place standard
measures to protect them from the virus both in the short-term
and in the long-term.
References
Atnafie, S. A., Anteneh, D. A., Yimenu, D. K., & Kifle, Z. D.
(2021). Assessment of exposure risks to COVID-19 among

3. frontline health care workers in Amhara Region, Ethiopia: A
cross-sectional survey.
Plos one
,
16
(4), e0251000.
Congress.gov. (2020). Legislation. All Information (Except
Text) for H.R.6139 - COVID–19 Health Care Worker
Protection Act of 2020.
https://www.congress.gov/bill/116th-
congress/house-bill/6139/all-info
Razvi, S., Oliver, R., Moore, J., & Beeby, A. (2020). Exposure
of hospital healthcare workers to the novel coronavirus
(SARS-CoV-2).
Clinical Medicine
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20
(6), e238.