New data reveals jobs with highest death rate from coronavirus

[MeanwhileTime]

news.sky.com/story/covid-19-new-data-reveals-jobs-with-highest-rates-of-death-from-coronavirus-12198285

It’s so sad because it’s confirmed that it’s the lowest paid people really being hit with this. All we ever hear are the educated, middle class people shouting the loudest about how unsafe their jobs are and how hard it is for them etc.
The people without unions, without good pay, without many real legal protections, as always, are the ones suffering the most.

This country is backwards.

I genuinely think some people might not have read the data before posting.

Actually, if someone could post a link to the data rather than the Sky article please?

It gives much more detail. I will in a bit unless someone is quicker than me.

eg unions stepped in to protect bus drivers whose rates did fall after initial lockdown. Unions are so important, I agree!

The data were screenshot above.
Here is ONS link to follow to get to the numbers.

Did it not occur to you to maybe express just a little bit of sympathy or concern for the fact that so many of the lowest paid and least respected in society have been left at the greatest risk - which I think is sobering and shameful - before banging on about yourself as a teacher? You could have pretended to be less self-absorbed?

God, absolutely fucking agree. I'm sick to the back teeth of reading threads about teachers now. I honestly have not witnessed as much harping on from any other profession through the whole bloody thing.

The deaths of -normally female- care workers is really shocking.

I think this data should be measured against a normal year (in an FOI request that was the excuse the ONS came up with and, yet, they still haven't done it!) for perspective. It is very rare for people in most occupations to die in service.

@Piggywaspushed

Thank god we’ve got some data to blow a hole in the myth that teachers that teachers are dropping like flies and are more at risk than other occupations. No chance it will stop the teachers on here banging on endlessly about how dangerous their workplace is but at least it’s easier to challenge their self-absorbed rants

Wow, there are actual dead teachers you know : well over 100 of them. Secondary teachers are dying at a higher rate. Perhaps it is you that needs to show some compassion for any people who have die before retirement age whilst in service, regardless of profession but instead you express glee.

I don't think there is a definition of 'dropping like flies'.

Secondary teachers are dying at a higher rate than who?

Allowed any sympathy for male secondary teachers, or no?

Of the specific teaching and education professions, the rate of death involving COVID-19 in male secondary education teaching professionals was statistically significantly higher than the rate of death involving COVID-19 in professional occupations in men of the same age

It's in the data marked.

Here you go

*Fifty-two of those who died were secondary school teachers, equating to a death rate of 39.2 deaths per 100,000 men and 21.2 deaths per 100,000 women.

These rates were higher than those seen nationally – 31.4 and 16.8 deaths per 100,000 among men and women respectively.*

Why is this whole thread about teachers...again?

So it compared men in professional occupations but what about men in non professional occupations?

There are a lot of teachers on MN. there are a lot of teachers in the UK. there are a lot of people on MN who rely on teachers. Of course posters will look at them.

@Piggywaspushed

There are a lot of teachers on MN. there are a lot of teachers in the UK. there are a lot of people on MN who rely on teachers. Of course posters will look at them.

It's all anyone on MN seems to give a shit about though.

There are other workers in this study with far higher death rates and so far there have been less posts about them than I can count on my hands. Instead it's, as per usual, all about teachers. Not everything has to be an attack, we can discuss other professions you know.

The thing I posted above reformed was in reference to the general population of working age, I believe.

Yes, I agree mirror, really but it is a MN preoccupation. I mentioned careworkers and the protection now afforded to bus drivers upthread.

Was the first person who asked about teachers actually a teacher?

I’m a care worker and I’d like to add that I don’t live in poor housing or have a poor diet and neither do any of my 40 or so colleagues. Our pay isn’t all that low either (£10ph minimum) and most of us have working partners which puts us in comfortable positions in comparison to vast amounts of the country.

Don’t dismiss the death rates in carers being because we are “poor”. It’s because we spend hours a day in physical contact with residents and within 1m of co-workers. Any job that requires such close contact without proper filtering breathing masks will carry much higher risk.

I just can't stand it. This is harrowing info which shows that the people with the lowest paid jobs, often with the poorest working conditions, least thought about in society in general imo, poor sick pay etc... Are at the highest risk of dying from this and the fucking first post is about teachers.

I honestly think it's shameful personally.

The paragraph referred to states:

We also compared the teaching occupations with all other professional occupations, allowing us to see how the deaths compare with professions with similar broad economic and educational backgrounds. We found that rates of death involving COVID-19 in all teaching and educational professionals were not statistically significantly different to the rates seen in professional occupations (17.6 deaths per 100,000 males; 12.8 deaths per 100,000 females) as a whole, true for both sexes. Of the specific teaching and education professions, the rate of death involving COVID-19 in male secondary education teaching professionals was statistically significantly higher than the rate of death involving COVID-19 in professional occupations in men of the same age

Don’t think this is in reference to the general working age population.

That's sad. I can't quite see how chefs are at risk so much.

Okay, picture a restaurant kitchen and the chefs. Close your eyes for a second and fix it in your mind.

I'm guessing, you've got something Gordon Ramsay like? Maybe a big important chef and some sous chefs who do have to get close to pass each other but it's a nice big space etc?

Then think about the reality. For every fine dining or even just moderate dining establishing that might, note, it's might not definitely, have such working conditions (which I'd still consider high risk), there are multiple lower end establishments particularly for takeaways. These kitchens are small, crowded, badly ventilated etc.

I honestly think that one of the biggest problems that Covid has exposed is how little many of us know about how other people live. Our books, movies and TV shows just don't truly show the reality of so many people's lives. It's a silly example, but I see it even in our little middle class village - when we do school fairs or village events etc, all those little takeaway shops remain open but they're not part of it. They don't get asked to sponsor things, their children don't go to this school (so I assume that means they all live somewhere else as it's a state school with admission almost exclusively by distance). So all these people who work in our village are nonetheless invisible to the vast bulk of the people who live in it.

The second poster, the first to mentioned teachers, is not a teacher. Mumsnet is obsessed with teachers. Teachers are not (in this instance) being self obsessed (though we're pretty swift at coming to our own defence).

Personally, I think these statistics very much show that the biggest risk from Covid is being poor, which is disgusting but not at all shocking.

I'll happily sign petitions to raise the minimum wage and ensure reasonable rates of sick pay for non-salaried workers. Just point me in the right direction.

I'm suspecting not many people here realise what it's like working in factories etc. All the focus on (young) teachers getting vaccinated shows so much middle class bias. Look at food production plants, outbreaks constantly because they cannot distance. Theres currently a large outbreak at a dairy near here, who produce much of the yogurt you buy! Yes teachers work but they can distance more than many others and they get sick pay

I think part of the issue is that people don't know each other. On one thread recently someone said something about 'all her friends' who were 'well-paid professionals'. So she knows no one in a friendly capacity who isn't one of those people. If you don't know anyone who's a cleaner, or works in a care home or factory, you know (and care) less.

Add homeless shelter workers, caretakers, the list goes on.

@Triffid1

That's sad. I can't quite see how chefs are at risk so much.

Okay, picture a restaurant kitchen and the chefs. Close your eyes for a second and fix it in your mind.

I'm guessing, you've got something Gordon Ramsay like? Maybe a big important chef and some sous chefs who do have to get close to pass each other but it's a nice big space etc?

Then think about the reality. For every fine dining or even just moderate dining establishing that might, note, it's might not definitely, have such working conditions (which I'd still consider high risk), there are multiple lower end establishments particularly for takeaways. These kitchens are small, crowded, badly ventilated etc.

I honestly think that one of the biggest problems that Covid has exposed is how little many of us know about how other people live. Our books, movies and TV shows just don't truly show the reality of so many people's lives. It's a silly example, but I see it even in our little middle class village - when we do school fairs or village events etc, all those little takeaway shops remain open but they're not part of it. They don't get asked to sponsor things, their children don't go to this school (so I assume that means they all live somewhere else as it's a state school with admission almost exclusively by distance). So all these people who work in our village are nonetheless invisible to the vast bulk of the people who live in it.

I get all this. My husband is a chef. They’ve also barely been at work most of the pandemic! I wonder if the ones sadly affected are perhaps takeaway workers (a) working in a smaller kitchen than a restaurant one or (b) BAME.