COVID vaccine avoided infection in 10% of pa

The rapid deployment of the covid-19 vaccine from December 2020 has avoided infection in the majority of UK NHS hospital workers during the second wave of the pandemic. BMJ today.

Without the deployment of vaccines that prioritize front-line health care workers, an additional 10% of all patients facing hospital workers would have been infected and the absence of staff due to covid-19 would have been 69% higher. ..

In addition, the probability of infection increased by 2% daily when health care workers went unvaccinated.

Another study published by BMJ Efficacy of Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca covid-19 vaccines against infections of 317,341 British healthcare and social workers vaccinated today from January 4 to February 28, 2021 Was compared.

Using data from the OpenSAFELY research platform, the results show strong protection from both vaccines, with no substantial difference in infection rate or covid-19-related hospitalization and hospitalization.

Together, these findings provide essential insights into SARS-CoV-2 infection in health and social care workers that can be used to guide further infection prevention and control measures.

Healthcare workers were one of the first groups to be vaccinated against covid-19 since December 2020. During deployment, coverage varied between groups of health care workers, which could lead to disparities in exposure and protection of the entire workforce.

Therefore, researchers have found that the proportion of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection in the second wave of England (September 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021), risk factors, among health care workers in sensitive hospitals. And wanted to investigate the impact.

Of 18,284 people with no previous evidence of infection, recruited from 105 NHS hospital trusts in the United Kingdom as part of the SARS-CoV-2 immunity and reinfection assessment using a combination of statistical and mathematical modeling. We analyzed data from clinical, support, and administrative staff. (Siren) Research.

At the time of registration, participants completed a survey of demographic, household, and occupational characteristics and then completed a biweekly questionnaire that included whether they had been vaccinated. They also performed biweekly PCR tests and monthly antibody tests during the study period (September 1, 2020 to April 30, 2021).

After considering demographic, household, and occupational factors, 2,353 (13%) of participants were infected during the second wave.

Infection peaked in late December 2020 and has declined since January 2021. This is in line with the rapid immunization coverage and national blockade of healthcare professionals.

Factors that increase the likelihood of infection in the second wave are under 25 years of age, living in households of 5 or more, frequently exposed to covid-19 patients, working in emergency departments or inpatient wards. , And a healthcare assistant.

The time to first vaccination was found to be strongly associated with infection, increasing participants’ probability of infection by 2% with each additional day.

Simulations of mathematical models showed that without prompt vaccination, an additional 10% of health care workers in all hospitals facing the patient would have been infected.

Since this is an observational study, the cause cannot be determined. Limitations include the lack of details needed to investigate variations in hospital infection prevention and management policies, as well as differences in individual behavior that may have influenced outcomes.

However, SIREN is a large study suitable for investigating the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the hospital workforce.

As such, the researchers state that the study “strengthens the importance of vaccination among healthcare professionals during the critical wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the United Kingdom.”

They add: “A better understanding of communication dynamics between healthcare professionals, especially according to role and configuration, will support the NHS Trust, which protects the workforce and patients from SARS-CoV-2 infections and other seasonal winter viruses. . “

These findings show that staff in some categories are at risk of occupational covid-19 (and possibly other respiratory infections), despite using personal protective equipment that was advised at the time. Reminds me to stay high.

This raises the question of whether vaccines and immunity provide adequate protection, or whether stricter measures such as better personal protective equipment and ventilation are still needed in high-risk medical environments.

He added that the NHS is now facing a dilemma. “It’s unclear what it means to live with covid-19 in the medical setting, and whether we should now allow the spread of much milder infections in our hospitals. Further surveillance and investigation is in this discussion. It helps to inform you, but ethical and political considerations can also play a role. “

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