Some sickened survivors have also sought and received aid from the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund, also funded through the Zadroga Act, in addition to WTC Health Program coverage. More than 58,000 survivors and first responders enrolled in the WTC Health Program have wrestled with 9/11’s after-effects: respiratory problems, pulmonary disease and a higher rate of cancer than the general population, according to program statistics. The WTC Health Program is also unable to share names, under federal health privacy laws. People affected by the attacks that day in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania are now spread out throughout the country and there is no official directory. An additional 541 died between Maand June 30, 2020, according to the CDC. Of those tracked, 55% have developed a 9/11-related illness and 2,955 had died before the pandemic. Michael Field was one of the many members of the WTC Health program, but it is unclear whether his death is reflected in the 42 logged so far.Īnd the 105,000 total people enrolled in the WTC Health Program account for only a quarter of the estimated population exposed to toxic dust after the attacks. That can make it difficult to assess the actual toll. “This data is collected passively,” said Stevens. Now, WTC Health Program clinics are scheduling monitoring exams that they hope will help them learn the COVID-19 status of enrollees, she said. Stephanie Stevens, a spokesperson for Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, which oversees the program, said clinics later began calling members who fell into the CDC’s high-risk category for complications from COVID-19. At the beginning of the pandemic, only those who saw or contacted health care providers affiliated with the WTC Health Program were counted, officials said. It is challenging to get a precise tally of infections and deaths. In the past six months, at least 1,300 people who worked or lived at or near Ground Zero and other 9/11 sites have contracted COVID-19. In April, THE CITY reported that the World Trade Center Health Program - administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and funded through the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act - had not been monitoring the outbreak’s impact on its 79,000 enrolled first responders and more than 26,000 survivors. Officially, 42 have died of COVID-19, according to the World Trade Center Health Program.īut advocates, lawyers - and WTC Health Program officials - say the actual toll is likely much greater. He’s far from the only 9/11 first responder or survivor taken by the pandemic. He died on April 8 at the age of 59, leaving behind his wife and three adult sons: Steven, Richie and Jason. While Field, who lived in Valley Stream on Long Island, fought his illnesses after serving at Ground Zero, 19 years later COVID-19 got the best of him. Members and sponsors make THE CITY possible. “They were told everything was fine down there,” she told THE CITY.Ī week after the attack, then-federal Environmental Protection Agency boss Christine Todd Whitman said that the “air is safe to breathe.” A 2003 report from the Office of Inspector General found the EPA did not have enough information to make that assertion. He later suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and pulmonary issues - conditions that his wife, Stacey Field, attributed to his work digging through the rubble as the rescue operation quickly turned to a long-term recovery effort. The FDNY emergency medical technician wound up working at Ground Zero for nine months. 11, 2001, shortly after the terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers.
Michael Field arrived at the World Trade Center on Sept. You can participate: If you know someone who died or may have died due to the coronavirus, share their story here or leave us a voicemail at 64. This story is part of “ MISSING THEM ,” THE CITY’s ongoing collaborative project to remember every New Yorker killed by COVID-19.
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