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Public health emergencies are a test of resilience for health systems, which depend on health workforces that are well managed and cared for. The COVID‐19 pandemic exposed the weakness of many health systems in preparing their health workforces. The crisis also exacerbated the unequal conditions between different professions, an issue that is still understudied in the workforce literature. This paper analyzes the consequences of the COVID‐19 pandemic for different health professionals, considering the ways in which Brazil's the health system does or does not protect them. We also analyse the role of pre‐existing inequalities between different professions and social groups within the workforce in shaping their different experiences of the pandemic. We present data comparing the perceptions of different health professionals facing the pandemic in Brazil: physicians, nurses, and community health workers. Data were collected in an online survey in Brazil with 1630 health care workers between June 15th and July 1st. Findings suggest that none of the professions felt well prepared to work under emergencies. However, differences relating to professional background were exacerbated during the pandemic, creating unequal conditions for different health workers. These inequalities may pose new challenges for the post‐pandemic scenario.

Glucose transport into the brain is mediated by a facilitative glucose‐transporter protein, GLUT‐1. A GLUT‐1 defect results in the Glucose‐Transporter‐Protein Syndrome (GTPS), characterized by infantile epilepsy, developmental delay, and acquired microcephaly. The diagnosis is currently based on clinical features, low to normal lactate levels and low glucose levels (hypoglycorrhachia) in the cerebrospinal fluid, and the demonstration of impaired GLUT‐1 function in erythrocytes as described here. Blood samples were collected in sodium‐heparin or citrate‐phosphate‐dextrose solution and uptake of (14)C‐labeled 3‐O‐Methyl‐D‐glucose (3OMG) into erythrocytes (0.5 mmol/L 3OMG; 1μCi/mL) was measured at 4C and pH 7.4. Three‐OMG influx was terminated at 5‐second intervals, washed cells were lysed, and uptake was quantitated by liquid scintillation counting. Patients' uptake (n = 22) was 44± 8% of controls (100± 22%, n = 70). Statistical analyses showed an uptake cut‐off point at 60% uptake, a sensitivity of 86% (95%‐confidence interval 78 to 94%), and a specificity of 97% (95%‐confidence interval 93 to 100%). Gender, age, and ketosis did not influence 3OMG uptake. This assay provides a reproducible and accurate laboratory test for diagnosing the GTPS. J. Clin. Lab. Anal. 13:116–121, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.