ABSTRACT
Objective. To describe the behavior of SARS- CoV-2 epidemic among workers affiliated to the Mexican Social Security Institute. Materials and methods.We analyzed Short Term Disability Claims due to Respiratory Diseases (RD-STDC), associated hospitalizations and deaths (March 1 - December 31, 2020).We estimated the attack rate (AR) for SARS-CoV-2, and relative risks (RR) of TWD-RD, hospitalization and deaths. Results. 1 730 334 workers received at least one RD-STDC. AR was higher in women and in both sexes it was lower in >60 years old. RR of hospitalization and death were higher in men and increased with age. Compared with RD-STDC of 2015-2019, the states of Durango, Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon had a higher RR of RD-STDC than the rest of the country. Conclusions. The SARS-CoV-2 epidemic impacted IMSS-affiliated workers significantly. We observed a 4.6 fold excess in RD-STDC compared to the expected frequency and nearly 1 million SARS-CoV-2 cases in this population. Our data suggest that the RD-STDC system can be used as an additional resource for epidemiological surveillance of emerging diseases.