This study in the Lancet pretty well predicts the now worldwide distribution of the coronavirus from China via international air travel patterns, and the Coronavirus “hot zones” in the U.S. tend to be around the busiest airports for international travel. Could long haul trucking further distribute Coronavirus throughout our country?

If we wanted to design the perfect system to deliver a communicable disease all over a country, we’d probably design something like long haul trucking. A literal sweatshop on 18 wheels, long haul truckers live in their trucks for weeks on end with little access to sanitation. These drivers schedules are dictated by greedy shippers and dictatorial trucking company managers who insist that the drivers keep rolling ‘til they physically can’t anymore- That’s why falling asleep at the wheel is one of the most frequent causes of truck accidents and you’ll see long haul truckers attempting to drive through blizzards. And the poor health of many long haul truckers make them likely to be the first victims of Coronavirus- They’re over 90% male, older and more obese than the average worker, have weakened immune systems from lack of sleep, live in a rolling food desert, and are much more likely to smoke that the average worker.

Every day thousands of truck drivers load up in the shipping centers and also epicenters of the Coronavirus epidemic in america- Seattle, the Bay area, southern California, Chicago, New York, etc…. After days of too little sleep and too many miles between being jammed in tight loading dock waiting rooms and truck stops they’ll deliver their loads and maybe Coronavirus too all over america. They’ll be among the first victims, with little access to health care and doomed by pre-existing conditions. And with a nationwide shortage of truck drivers, there’s no one to replace them and their absence will further delay deliveries of needed food and medical supplies.

It should have happened long ago, but in this deadly disease crisis it’s high time we improved the working conditions (and pay too) of long haul truckers!