The importance of occupation in the development of the COVID-19 pandemic

In the past three years, we have witnessed the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, with unprecedented challenges to all aspects of human life worldwide. In the workforce, it rapidly became clear that workers in some jobs were more likely to suffer adverse consequences for morbidity and mortality. In our earlier editorials in the Scandinavian Journal of Work Environment and Health, we reviewed emerging evidence, suggesting that well-established socio-economic health inequalities intermingled with occupational risk factors, making it difficult to target the conditions at work that contributed to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in working populations (1, 2). As a first priority for the research agenda on COVID-19, we suggested the identification of occupations at higher risk for becoming infected and specific work characteristics that contribute to the risks. Such insights will be immensely valuable for preparedness to threats of future pandemics