Deaths of doctors and nursing staff by COVID-19 in Brazil: a sociological approach

Abstract The article addresses the most basic nuances and key issues involved in the high mortality of doctors, nurses, technicians and nursing assistants, as a result of COVID-19 in Brazil. This is a study based on data from the Federal Councils of Medicine and Nursing (CFM and Cofen, respectively) and the study on the death inventory of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz), and aims to understand and analyze this reality in the light of the sociology of professions. The work makes a relevant and unprecedented contribution to the understanding of the past, present and future of working class segments that work at the bedside, on the front line, providing direct care to patients.