By MARK LORENZANA

In the last two years, 3,622 workers from the health sector of Mexico’s federal government have died of the covid-19 virus. Among these health workers were doctors, nurses, laboratory technicians and administrative staff.

A report by Mexican daily newspaper El Universal on Monday, Oct. 3, revealed that from March 12, 2020, to March 12, 2022, 2,746 doctors employed by three government agencies succumbed to the deadly virus: 2,142 from the Mexican Health Secretariat, 323 from the Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE) and 281 from the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS).

In addition, 380 nurses from the IMSS and ISSSTE likewise died from the virus, and 489 deaths were reported among workers in other categories, including administrative staff, as well as seven laboratory workers.

The Mexican states where majority of the deceased government physicians hail from include Mexico City, the State of Mexico (EdoMéx), Puebla, Veracruz, Jaliso, Guanajuato, Sinaloa, Michoacán, Tabasco.

In the case of nurses, Mexico City, the State of Mexico (EdoMéx), Puebla, Veracruz, San Luis Potosí, Chihuahua, Tamaulipas, Jalisco, Tlaxcala and Nuevo León had majority of the casualties.

While the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States government have recently announced that the end of the pandemic is near, scientific studies recommend keeping preventive measures in place, as well as continued vaccination, according to a study by Mexico’s General Directorate of Strategic Research of the Belisario Domínguez Institute (IBD).

The study, prepared by IBD medical investigator Concepción Torres Ramírez, points out that the recent variants that have come out, which are less virulent but more contagious, have made it more difficult to tally covid-related deaths, since the symptoms may be milder and fewer tests are applied.

According to official figures by the WHO, 6.5 million people have died from the covid-19 pandemic, but the health agency of the United Nations estimated more than 15 million covid-related deaths worldwide.