Researchers identify vaccinated patient groups at highest risk of severe Covid

A new study shows that certain groups of immunosuppressed people, and residents of long-term care facilities, are one of the groups identified as “high risk” as a result of serious Covid, despite vaccination. It is indicated by.

The researchers said they hope the results will help discuss risks between doctors and patients, as well as booster and treatment priorities.

It comes as The shield program implemented to protect people who are clinically very vulnerable to Covid has officially ended. this week.

A new Covid risk tool developed at Oxford University calculates “cumulative risk scores” for different groups. “The risk of hospitalization or death from Covid 14 days after the second vaccination, which is expected to be substantial immunity,” the university said.

The algorithm is an updated version of. QCovid risk tool developed last year to notify vaccination prioritization He added that it takes into account factors such as age, gender, ethnicity, and background rate of Covid infection.

The University of Oxford announced its results today, stating that the new tool has identified an “increased risk” for people who are immunosuppressed as a result of chemotherapy, recent bone marrow or solid organ transplants, or HIV / AIDS.

“People with neurological disorders such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease, residents of long-term care facilities, and people with chronic disorders such as Down’s syndrome are also at high risk,” he added.

Papers published in BMJ Today, we outline the results of a study that analyzed a representative sample of more than 6.9 million adults vaccinated in the United Kingdom. Of these, 5.2 million were double jabbed.

The sample included 2,031 Covid deaths and 1,929 Covid-related hospitalizations, of which 81 deaths and 71 hospitalizations occurred more than 14 days after the second jab, the university said.

Researchers should be able to use data to help high-risk people make “more informed decisions about shields” and “prioritization” for further testing of vaccines, boosters, or preventative therapies. He added that he wanted.

Julia Hippisley Cox, a professor of clinical epidemiology and general practice at Oxford University and co-author of the paper, said the tool identifies patients for whom the NHS is subject to “targeted interventions” other than vaccination. Said it was designed to help.

She added: ‘This new tool can also inform discussions between doctors and patients about the level of risk that supports shared decision making.

“Individual risk always depends on individual choices and current disease prevalence, but we hope this new tool will help with decision sharing and more personalized risk assessment.”

Aziz Sheikh, co-author of the paper and professor of primary care research and development at the University of Edinburgh, said the tool “may benefit from interventions such as vaccine booster doses and new therapies such as monoclonal antibodies. He added that it helps identify “people.” ..

However, researchers often do not record occupational or other data in GP or hospital records and do not distinguish between vaccination types, so factors such as exposure may have “restricted the study.” “.

They added: ‘Covid-19-related hospitalizations or deaths were relatively low in the group receiving the second dose of the vaccine. That is, the risk after the second vaccination compared to the group above after the first dose.

This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) and used general clinical data and a nationally linked dataset for immunization, Covid testing, death, and hospital episodes.

The government accepted JCVI’s final advice this week. Booster jabs are required for cohorts 1-9 of the first phase of the Covid vaccination campaign. 6 months after the second dose – The GP was told to prioritize long-term care facility boosters.

A third jab for immunosuppressed patients has already been recommended and GP Identify patients who are eligible to receive jabs starting this week.

Meanwhile, researchers warned this month: Deprivation factors should be included in Covid’s hospitalization risk score.