Lesson five was that health systems should protect health care workers, who made up between one-third and two-thirds of SARS cases in heavily affected countries. Most nurses were (and are) women, and among health care staff, women were 2.7 times more likely than men to get SARS, whereas outside of hospitals, it infected both equally. Yet even now in some rich countries, doctors and nurses are dying and must face Covid-19 with insufficient masks, gloves, and gowns. Lesson not learned.
