Introduction:

during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of protective equipment and devices by professionals is essential to prevent transmission of the infection in the healthcare community.

Methods:

the Professional Labor Working group of the Spanish Association of Primary Care Pediatrics (AEPap) has carried out a survey of the autonomous members of the AEPap to find out the availability for primary care pediatricians (PCP) of protection elements against the disease, the diagnostic measures carried out on the professionals for the diagnosis of infections in the PCP.

Results:

during the month of March, in 32% of the autonomous communities (CC. AA.), pediatricians had adequate means of protection, which in April amounted to 70%. Sick cases of PCP have been registered in all the CC. AA., although it is difficult to quantify the number of patients affected. According to our data, adding the positive test patients, those who have been in isolation and those admitted, the figure rises up to 7.65%. Rapid serological tests or PCR or both have been carried out in 6 communities in the last days of April and in 6 others in the first days of May. The only community in which it has not been carried out is that of Aragon. The availability of protection systems and health expenditure have been correlated.

Conclusions:

protection systems have been insufficient. The CC. AA. with the highest health expenditure have had adequate protection systems earlier. PCP have been infected in all the autonomous communities, especially in Madrid, Castilla y León and Valencia. The detection of affected professionals by the infection has been late.

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