An Emergency Department Nurse during a demonstration of the Coronavirus pod and COVID-19 virus testing procedures set-up beside the Emergency Department of Antrim Area Hospital, Co Antrim in Northern Ireland. PA Photo.

As the coronavirus continues to spread globally, some health-care professionals and experts have growing concerns about how the virus could disproportionately impact women. Right now, women in the U.S. hold 76% of health-care jobs, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In nursing, where workers are on the front lines of patient interactions, women make up more than 85% of the workforce. "It's a little scary," says one registered nurse who works in the Washington, D.C. area, who asked not to be named to protect her privacy and employment. In the past, she's worked with patients who've had the flu, tuberculosis and other communicable diseases, but the coronavirus is different, she tells CNBC Make It. In addition to the virus having no vaccine yet, the rush of people being infected has led to some health-care workers being fearful that they may contract it as well, she says. "I've had to ask myself, 'What if I got exposed to the virus unknowingly and now I have to go back to family members who are in the age bracket of 60 and above, or even younger family members with a weak immune system?'" Though her hospital won't reveal the exact number of patients infected, the 25-year-old nurse says she's aware that they've had to place several patients who tested positive for the virus in quarantine.

Kübra Yilmaz and Canan Emcan, nurses of the infection ward of the university hospital, in protective clothing and behind a breathing mask, look at two smear tubes and the corresponding virology certificate. In Essen, the city and university hospital feel well prepared for patients infected with the novel coronavirus. Bernd Thissen | Getty Images

Women make up the majority of health-care workers worldwide

Though early studies from China show that men are more likely to die from COVID-19 than women, some experts wonder if women are at greater risk of catching it because of their role in health care. Roughly 70% of the global health-care workforce is made up of women, according to an analysis of 104 countries conducted by the World Health Organization. In the Hubei province of China, where the virus originated, more than 90% of health-care workers are women. Nancy Nielsen, former president of the American Medical Association, says it's important to understand that "health-care workers are at risk, and they need to be protected with protective gear to prevent infection." Already, she says, "we have seen tragic deaths among health-care professionals, both doctors and nurses, abroad." In China, at least 3,300 health-care workers have gotten the virus and 13 have died, according to Chinese health authorities. Nielsen says these figures should be a wake-up call to ensure that all U.S. health-care workers at least have N95 respirator masks that they can use when dealing with patients who may have the virus. So far, public fears of contracting coronavirus have led multiple retailers and suppliers to run out of the masks due to the general public purchasing them. Nielsen says this has created a shortage in the number of masks health-care workers have access to. "What we're trying to do is make sure that people don't hoard the N95 masks and keep them from the people who are at the greatest risk, which are health-care workers," she says. Vice President Mike Pence has asked construction companies, which use the same type of masks, to donate some of their supplies to local hospitals.

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Women are primary caretakers