The NIEHS Worker Training Program (WTP) has been tracking information about the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) as it pertains to protecting workers involved in emergency response and cleanup activities performed in the United States. This page contains health and safety resources for workers who may be at risk of exposure to COVID-19.

Training Resources

The National Clearinghouse creates training tools to aid in the development of awareness-level courses or other awareness-level materials. These tools provide health and safety guidance to workers who work in industries with the potential for exposure to COVID-19.

COVID-19 is a new disease and we are still learning much about it, including how it spreads. This Training Tool will be updated with new information as the situation evolves.

COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Mental health and Substance Use, Workplace Solutions

This awareness level training program may be used to update existing opioid, resilience, or COVID-19 training, or as a stand-alone program.

• COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health and Substance Use, Workplace Solutions(126MB)
• COVID-19 Pandemic’s Impact on Mental Health and Substance Use, Workplace Solutions(4.5MB)
• Activity Worksheet(89KB)

General Awareness Training Tool

In English:

• Protecting Yourself from COVID-19 in the Workplace (v3)(8.6MB)
• Protecting Yourself from COVID-19 in the Workplace (v3)(4.4MB)

Building Programs to Protect Workers Training Tool (replaces the Essential and Returning Workers Training Tool)

In English:

• Building Programs to Protect Workers from COVID-19 in the Workplace(29.7MB) Updated April 2021
• Building Programs to Protect Workers from COVID-19 in the Workplace(10MB) Updated April 2021

En Español:

• Desarrollo de programas para proteger a los trabajadores del COVID-19 en el lugar de trabajo(35.5MB) Actualizado en abril de 2021
• Desarrollo de programas para proteger a los trabajadores del COVID-19 en el lugar de trabajo(11.3MB) Actualizado en abril de 2021

Essential and Returning Workers Training Tool (original April 2020 content)

In Chinese (Simplified):

• Protecting Workers from COVID-19 in the Workplace: Essential and Returning Workers Training Tool (Chinese)(27.7MB)
• Protecting Workers from COVID-19 in the Workplace: Essential and Returning Workers Training Tool (Chinese)(9.5MB)

In Vietnamese:

• Protecting Workers from COVID-19 in the Workplace: Essential and Returning Workers Training Tool(24MB)
• Protecting Workers from COVID-19 in the Workplace: Essential and Returning Workers Training Tool(7.4MB)

COVID-19 Toolbox

• Best Practices in Training
• Evaluation of WTP COVID-19 Activities: Summary Report(2.2MB) and Full Report(342KB)
• Evaluation Tip Sheet and Resources(222KB)
• COVID-19 Briefs
• WTP COVID-19 Brief: Addressing Occupational Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Variants(224KB)
• WTP COVID-19 Brief: Building an Occupational Infection Prevention and Control Plan(196KB)
• WTP COVID-19 Brief: Key Information for Workplace and Training Providers: Policies for Fully Vaccinated People(161KB)
• WTP COVID-19 Brief: Selection and Use of Portable Air Cleaners to Protect Workers from Exposure to SARS-CoV-2(233KB)
• WTP COVID-19 Brief: Workplace Respiratory Hazard Assessment: Preventing Inhalation of the SARS-CoV-2 Virus(379KB)
• COVID-19 Prevention Fact Sheets
• Preventing SARS-CoV-2 Eye Exposures and Infection(299KB)
• Protecting Yourself from COVID-19 in the Workplace Fact Sheet(870KB)
• Protecting Yourself from COVID-19 in the Workplace Fact Sheet (Chinese)(1MB)
• Workplace Checklist for Prevention of Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Non-Healthcare Industries(923KB)
• Workplace Checklist for Prevention of Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Non-Healthcare Industries (Vietnamese)(354KB)
• Workplace Checklist for Prevention of Exposure to SARS-CoV-2 Virus in Non-Healthcare Industries (Chinese)(1.7MB)
• Information on Vaccines
• Elementos clave de un programa modelo de salud y seguridad para la vacunación contra el COVID-19 en el lugar de trabajo(1.5MB)
• Injection Safety for COVID-19 Vaccinators and Vaccine Administrators(1.8MB)
• Seguridad de los vacunadores y administradores de inyecciones de COVID-19(1.7MB)
• Other Resources
• AIHA Guidance to Protect Volunteers From COVID-19 During Natural Disaster Response and Recovery(544KB)
• AIHA Guía para proteger a los voluntarios contra el COVID-19 durante labores de respuesta y recuperación por un desastre natural(603KB)
• Can SARS-CoV-2, the Virus that Causes COVID-19 Disease, Be Spread by Blood?(150KB)
• COVID-19 Resource List(264KB)
• Selection and Use of Portable Air Cleaners to Protect Workers from Exposure to SARS-CoV-2(294KB)

WTP Award Recipient Resources

CPWR – The Center for Construction Research and Training

• COVID-19 Construction Clearinghouse

Emory University

• Emergency Medical Services Biosafety Transport-Operator Course
• Clinical Biosafety Awareness Course
• Public Health Biosafety Awareness Course

International Brotherhood of Teamsters

• 30-Min COVID-19 Awareness Course

Laborers' International Union of North America Training and Education Fund

• Infectious Disease Awareness
• Infectious Disease Operations

Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health

• COVID-19 Toolkit for Essential Workers: Health and Safety Protections and How to Make them Happen

New Jersey/New York Hazardous Materials Worker Training Center

• Community Health Justice Lab (CHJL) COVID-19 (En Español)
• Community Health Justice Lab (CHJL) vacuna COVID-19

Texas-Utah Consortium for Hazardous Waste Worker Education and Training

• COVID-19 Training for Death Care Industry(5.3MB)

University of California, Los Angeles

• COVID-19 Prevention Emergency Temporary Standards Video Messages in Indigenous Languages
• Resources: Protecting Workers from COVID-19
• Worker Protections From COVID-19 Fact Sheet: Cal/OSHA Emergency Temporary Standard 2020
• Protecciones de COVID-19 para Trabajadores: Norma temporal de emergencia 2020 de Cal/OSHA

University of Washington Northwest Center for Occupational Health & Safety

• Safer Cleaning, Sanitizing and Disinfecting Strategies to Reduce and Prevent COVID-19 Transmission

WTP Webinars and Presentations

• COVID-19 related webinars and presentations

WTP Technical Workshops

• WTP 2020 Spring Workshop on Protecting Infectious Disease Responders During the COVID-19 Outbreak
• WTP 2016 Infectious Disease Workshop

Federal Links and Documents

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• Coronavirus (COVID-19)
• Specific Settings

CDC National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

• A Guide to Air-Purifying Respirators
• Coronavirus Disease 2019

National Institutes of Health (NIH)

• Coronavirus Disease 2019

NIH National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID)

• Coronaviruses

NIH National Library of Medicine (NLM)

• Coronavirus Disease 2019 Resources
• Journal Article Citations

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)

• COVID-19
• OSHA COVID-19 Healthcare Emergency Temporary Standard
• OSHA Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for COVID-19
• Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)

• Coronavirus
• Design for the Environment Logo for Antimicrobial Pesticide Products
• List N Tool: Disinfectants for Use Against SARS-CoV-2

State/Local Links and Documents

• California Aerosol Transmissible Diseases Standard
• Cal/OSHA Interim Guidelines for General Industry on 2019 Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)
• California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Reduce Risk of Respiratory Infections by Improving Indoor Air Quality
• California Department of Public Health (CDPH) Long COVID and Workers Webpage
• Massachusetts Department of Public Health Sharps Injury Prevention Information for Vaccine Clinics

Please refer to your local and state Department of Health for additional state-specific guidance on COVID-19.

Other Links and Documents

General Information

• American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) COVID-19 Resources
• A Room, a Bar and a Classroom: How the Coronavirus is Spread through the Air (El Pais)
• American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) Focus on Construction Health: COVID-19
• AIHA Guidance to Protect Volunteers From COVID-19 During Natural Disaster Response and Recovery
• AIHA Guía para proteger a los voluntarios contra el COVID-19 durante labores de respuesta y recuperación por un desastre natural
• Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology (APIC) COVID-19 Web page
• APIC Break the Chain of Infection Infographic
• Back to Work Safely
• Emergency Care Research Institute (ECRI) COVID-19 (Coronavirus) Outbreak Preparedness Center
• Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Global Cases Map
• Course: Mask Filtration and Fit Matter
• National Academy of Medicine Duty to Plan: Health Care, Crisis Standards of Care, and Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2
• National Academies Societal Experts Action Network (SEAM): Emergency Evacuation and Sheltering During The Covid-19 Pandemic Guidance
• National Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) El nuevo Estándar Temporal de Emergencia de OSHA para la prevención de infecciones por COVID-19 en el lugar de trabajo (Solo para el cuidado de la salud)
• National Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) OSHA}
• National Council on Occupational Safety and Health (NCOSH) Essential Worker Town Hall Video
• Un salón, un bar y una clase: así contagia el coronavirus en el aire (El Pais)
• Western New York Council on Occupational Safety and Health Coronavirus Information
• World Health Organization Coronavirus

Research Articles and Reports

• Modeling COVID-19 scenarios for the United States
• Preventing the Spread of SARS-CoV-2 With Masks and Other “Low-tech” Interventions