ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION : The HCWs have the highest occupational exposure to the contagión of SARS-CoV-2. The increase in infection and mortality affects health systems. The recognition of COVID-19 as an Occupational Disease was a fundamental protection measure. The objective of this article was to make a description of OD due to COVID-19 among HCWs during the first 10 months of the pandemic. METHODS . Unpublished data were requested from the Superintendency of Occupational Hazards (SOH) on HCWs with OD according to sex, age, occupation y province. Incidence, mortality and lethality were calculated among HCWs. The number of records analyzed was 49,307. RESULTS . The Accumulated Incidence in the Occupational Hazard System (OHS) was 1,479.6 infected and 6 deaths, for every 10,000 insured. The incidence among HCWs is double that of the general working- age population. During 2020 there were 171 OD per day and 1 death every other day. 69% of the infections affected women, while 66% of the deaths were men. Nursing accounted for 54% of infections and 58% among deaths, while among physicians they were 28% and 32%, respectively. DISCUSSION . 21% of HCWs would not have reported their infection as OD, but the notification problem must be sought in the provinces. The incidence for HCWs in our country was higher than that reported in the bibliography. It is necessary to investigate the occupational determination in the HCWs. Legislation must definitely incorporate COVID-19 into the list of OD.

RESUMEN INTRODUCCIÓN : Los trabajadores y las trabajadoras de la salud (TS) poseen la mayor exposición laboral al contagio SARS-CoV-2. El aumento de la infección y la mortalidad afecta a los sistemas sanitarios. El reconocimiento transitorio de la enfermedad COVID-19 como enfermedad profesional (EP) fue una medida de protección fundamental. El objetivo de este artículo es realizar una descripción de la EP por COVID-19 entre los TS durante los primeros 10 meses de la pandemia. MÉTODOS : Se solicitaron datos no publicados a la Superintendencia de Riesgos del Trabajo sobre TS con EP según sexo, edad, ocupación y provincia de residencia. Se calcularon la incidencia, la mortalidad y la letalidad entre TS mediante el análisis de 49 307 registros. RESULTADOS : La incidencia acumulada en el Sistema de Riesgos de Trabajo fue de 1479,6 infectados y 6 muertes por cada 10 000 asegurados. La incidencia entre los TS triplicó a la de la población general en edad de trabajar. Durante 2020 se produjeron 171 EP por día y una muerte cada dos días. El 69% de las infecciones afectaron a mujeres, mientras que el 66% de las muertes fueron en hombres. El personal de enfermería tuvo el 54% de las infecciones y el 58% de las muertes, mientras que en el personal médico estas cifras fueron de 28% y 32%, respectivamente. DISCUSIÓN : El 21% de TS no habrían notificado su infección como EP, pero el problema de notificación debe buscarse en las provincias. La incidencia para los TS en Argentina fue mayor que la informada en la bibliografía. Es necesario investigar la determinación ocupacional en los TS. La legislación debe incorporar definitivamente la COVID-19 al listado de EP.

O artigo propõe uma leitura sistêmica do trabalho e dos processos de trabalho institucionais que intervêm nos esquemas de exclusão social. Centra-se especificamente no processo de trabalho institucional dentro de um hospital de saúde mental, propondo uma analogia com os das fábricas. O trabalho de enfermaria e sua história possibilitam, como modelo paradigmático, a releitura da história do trabalhador em geral, uma vez que nessa área eles atuam sobre os companheiros que se encontram em processo de degradação social. As dimensões abordadas a partir desse eixo são: a intervenção institucional e os processos de trabalho; o macroprocesso de exclusão/extinção social; e a epistemologia da co-produção de pesquisa para a análise dos processos sociais de trabalho. Nossa abordagem gnosiológica baseia-se na pesquisa co-produzida, a qual se constitui de dispositivos de intervenção transdisciplinares, entrevistas semi-estruturadas, histórias de vida focalizadas, observações de campo, relatos de co-pesquisadores trabalhadores e intertextos.

The article proposes a systematic reading of work and the institutional work processes involved in patterns of social exclusion. It specifically centres on the institutional work process in a mental health hospital, proposing an analogy with the process of factory work. As a paradigmatic model, nursing work and its history enable a re-reading of the history of workers in general, since in this area workers are dealing first-hand with comrades who find themselves in a process of social degradation. The dimensions approached from this angle include: institutional intervention and work processes; the macro-processes of social exclusion/extinction; the epistemology and co-production of research for the analysis of the social processes of work. Our gnosological approach is based on co-produced research, formed by transdisciplinary intervention devices, semi-structured interviews, focused life histories, field observations, accounts from co-researcher workers and intertexts.