Nearly one in five health care providers in the United States have quit their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the latest poll analysis published by Morning Consult on Monday. 

"Since February 2020... 18 percent of health care workers have quit their jobs during the COVID-19 pandemic, while another 12 percent have been laid off," the survey finds. 

COVID-19, burnout and poor pay, according to the survey, are among the reasons cited for the layoffs and resignations.

It points out that medical staffing problems are widespread in the U.S. and many health care workers have faced severe staffing shortages during the past year and a half.

"In California, for example, thousands of Kaiser Permanente nurses said they're planning a strike because of planned 'hefty cuts' to their pay and benefits. In Michigan, the Henry Ford Health System is turning to recruitment firms to bring 500 nurses from the Philippines to its hospitals over the next few years," says the poll. "And in upstate New York, a local hospital announced it would pause maternity services after dozens of staffers quit rather than get the COVID-19 vaccine."  

The survey also shows that since February last year, 31 percent of the interviewees who kept their jobs have considered leaving, including 19 percent who have thought about getting out of health care completely.

"That exodus – driven largely by the pandemic, insufficient pay or opportunities and burnout... – has implications for the entire health care system, both in the short term as the country struggles to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond as the country continues to age," the survey notes.

Besides, 79 percent of health care providers, according to the survey, complained that the national shortage of medical professionals in the U.S has "impacted them and their place of work," saying that their "workloads had increased," sometimes leading to "rushed or subpar care for patients," while others believed their colleagues had left due to the COVID-19 vaccination regulations.

"Sometimes I find myself running a building completely to myself with 47 residents," one health care provider was quoted as saying, while another noted that "employees are stretched to the limits."