Volume 29, Number 12—December 2023
Research
Work Attendance with Acute Respiratory Illness Before and During COVID-19 Pandemic, United States, 2018–2022
, Mary Patricia Nowalk, Richard K. Zimmerman, Todd Bear, Carlos G. Grijalva, H. Keipp Talbot, Ana Florea, Sara Y. Tartof, Manjusha Gaglani, Michael Smith, Huong Q. McLean, Jennifer P. King, Emily T. Martin, Arnold S. Monto, C. Hallie Phillips, Karen J. Wernli, Brendan Flannery, Jessie R. Chung, and Amra Uzicanin
Table 4
Likelihood of working onsite among adults who were scheduled to work, by PCR test result, United States, 2018–2022*
| Category | Day before illness, n = 3,489 | Day 1 of illness, n = 4,959 | Day 2 of illness, n = 4,720 | Day 3 of illness, n = 4,619 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prepandemic influenza seasons | ||||
| Influenza | 88.8 (443/499) | 59.3 (504/850) | 34.1 (285/835)† | 28.2 (236/837)† |
| Other ARI | 88.4 (759/859) | 62.2 (1,035/1,665) | 50.9 (783/1,537) | 50.2 (736/1,467) |
| aOR (95% CI)‡ |
1.01 (0.70–1.46) |
0.92 (0.77–1.10) |
0.51 (0.43–0.61) |
0.39 (0.32–0.47) |
| COVID-19 pandemic period | ||||
| COVID-19§ | 78.7 (681/865) | 51.2 (522/1,020) | 22.3 (220/986)† | 14.1 (137/974)† |
| Other ARI | 81.4 (1,031/1,266) | 53.9 (768/1,424) | 33.0 (450/1,362) | 33.7 (452/1,341) |
| aOR (95% CI)‡ |
0.80 (0.63–1.01) |
0.92 (0.77–1.09) |
0.59 (0.49–0.73) |
0.31 (0.25–0.39) |
| Influenza or COVID-19 | ||||
| COVID-19 pandemic period | 78.7 (681/865)† | 51.2 (522/1,020)† | 22.3 (220/986)† | 14.1 (137/974)† |
| Prepandemic influenza seasons | 88.8 (443/499) | 59.3 (504/850) | 34.1 (285/835) | 28.2 (236/837) |
| aOR (95% CI)‡ |
0.53 (0.37–0.75) |
0.84 (0.69–1.03) |
0.65 (0.52–0.81) |
0.45 (0.35–0.58) |
| Other ARI | ||||
| COVID-19 pandemic period | 81.4 (1,031/1,266)† | 53.9 (768/1,424)† | 33.0 (450/1,362)† | 33.7 (452/1,341)† |
| Prepandemic influenza seasons | 88.4 (759/859) | 62.2 (1,035/1,665) | 50.9 (783/1,537) | 50.2 (736/1,467) |
| aOR (95% CI)‡ | 0.67 (0.51–0.89) | 0.84 (0.72–0.99) | 0.56 (0.47–0.66) | 0.56 (0.48–0.67) |
*Values are percentage (no. persons worked onsite/no. persons scheduled to work) except as indicated. Worked onsite represents onsite only or hybrid work location. We excluded persons with influenza during the COVID-19 pandemic period (57 for day before illness, 65 for day 1, 70 for day 2, and 67 for day 3), persons with only remote work experience before illness onset period (560 for day before illness, 676 for day 1, 689 for day 2, and 677 for day 3), persons with missing work location (41 for day before illness, 74 for day 1, 55 for day 2, and 50 for day 3). ARI, acute respiratory illness; aOR, adjusted odds ratio. †p<0.001 (comparison of % working onsite for specified day). ‡Dependent variable in the multilevel logistic regression models is worked onsite on a specified day (0 = did not work or worked remotely only, 1 = worked onsite [onsite only or hybrid]). Independent variables are work experience in a typical week before illness onset (0 = onsite only, 1 = hybrid), study period (0 = prepandemic influenza seasons, 1 = COVID-19 pandemic period), PCR test result (0 = other acute respiratory illness, 1 = influenza or COVID-19), race/ethnicity, general health before illness, current smoker, type of employment, healthcare personnel, hours worked in a typical week before illness, employees discouraged from coming to work with flu-like symptoms, and study site. We excluded persons with missing information for independent variables (170 for day before, 237 for day 1, 247 for day 2, and 216 for day 3) in addition to those mentioned above. §Among persons with COVID-19, healthcare personnel were significantly more likely to work onsite than nonhealthcare personnel on the day before illness (85.9% vs 76.7%, p<0.01) and the first day of illness (58.4% vs.49.2%, p<0.05), but not on the second (22.0% vs. 22.3%) and third (11.7% vs. 14.7%) days of illness.