Effectiveness of BNT162b2 COVID-19 Vaccine in Preventing Severe Symptomatic Infection among Healthcare Workers

Background and Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) in preventing severe symptomatic laboratory-confirmed infection among healthcare workers in a real-world scenario. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of a prospective cohort study was conducted. Subjects with onset illness from January to February 2021 were eligible and classified according to the number of vaccine doses received (single-shot, n = 8; two-shot, n = 12; unvaccinated, n = 290). Results: The vaccine effectiveness against severe illness was 100% in the single and two-shot group. The presented results suggest that vaccination reduces the frequency of severe symptomatic COVID-19 in working-age adults. Conclusions: Efforts focusing on maximizing the number of immunized subjects in the study population may reduce associated economic and social burdens.

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Comparision Study On The Knowledge and Attitude Between Healthcare Workers Based On Educational materials of Nucleotie Based Vaccines

10.21203/rs.3.rs-871667/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

M. Emad Al Madadha ◽

Khalid E. Ahmed ◽

Rama Rayyan ◽

Mamoun Ahram ◽

Nancy Al-Sanouri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Health Workers ◽

Phase 1 ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Severe Illness ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Study Population ◽

Knowledge And Attitude

Abstract Background With the implementation of nucleotide-based vaccines (NBVs) in the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, a wide controversy surrounding NBVs has become a heated subject of debate, and it did not spare healthcare workers (HCW) and staff. HCW have a powerful influence on the acceptance of NBVs by the general public. Hence, the aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers regarding this new vaccine technology. Methods This is a cross-sectional study using an online survey involving health workers in Jordan. The survey assessed the participants' socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitude about the safety and efficacy if NBVs. The study population was divided into two groups, educated and uneducated groups, whereby the former received a small educational pamphlet on NBVs. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare between the response of the two groups. Results A total of 330 health workers participated in this study. Respondents believed that RNA-based NBVs would be a safer option compared to DNA-based ones, with the educated group showing significant difference. The notion of NBVs being a form of gene therapy was more common among the educated group. The majority of the participants, particularly amongst the uneducated group, were concerned about undiscovered effects of NBVs. Respondents also agreed that NBVs must be reevaluated in phase 1 trials. As for efficacy, our study population agreed that these vaccines would prevent severe illness. Conclusions Although healthcare workers have positive knowledge and attitude towards NBVs, misconceptions and skepticism exist and must be addressed with more education efforts.

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Healthcare workers' Attitude and Knowledge Towards the Safety of Nucleotide-Based Vaccines.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-744975/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mohammad Emad Al Madadha ◽

Khalid E.Ahmed ◽

Rama Rayyan ◽

Mamoun Ahram ◽

Nancy Al-Sanouri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Healthcare Workers ◽

Online Survey ◽

Health Workers ◽

Phase 1 ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Severe Illness ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Study Population ◽

Knowledge And Attitude

Abstract Background and objectives: With the implementation of nucleotide-based vaccines (NBVs) in the COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, a wide controversy surrounding NBVs has become a heated subject of debate, and it did not spare healthcare workers and staff. The latter group has a powerful influence on the acceptance of NBVs by the general public. Hence, the aim of this study to assess the knowledge and attitude of healthcare workers regarding this new vaccine technology.Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using an online survey involving health workers in Jordan. The survey assessed the participants' socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, and attitude about the safety and efficacy if NBVs. The study population was divided into two groups, educated and uneducated groups, whereby the former received a small educational pamphlet on NBVs. The Mann-Whitney test was used to compare between the response of the two groups.Results: A total of 330 health workers participated in this study. Respondents believed that RNA-based NBVs would be a safer option compared to DNA-based ones, with the educated group showing significant difference. The notion of NBVs being a form of gene therapy was more common among the educated group. The majority of the participants, particularly amongst the uneducated group, were concerned about undiscovered effects of NBVs. Respondents also agreed that NBVs must be reevaluated in phase 1 trials. As for efficacy, our study population agreed that these vaccines would prevent severe illness. Conclusions: Although healthcare workers have positive knowledge and attitude towards NBVs, misconceptions and skepticism exist and must be addressed with more education efforts.

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COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Hesitancy (VBH) of Healthcare Workers in Czechia: National Cross-Sectional Study

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9121437 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1437

Author(s):

Miloslav Klugar ◽

Abanoub Riad ◽

Lekshmi Mohanan ◽

Andrea Pokorná

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Strong Predictor ◽

Target Population ◽

Severe Illness ◽

Cross Sectional Survey ◽

Symptomatic Infection ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Perceived Safety ◽

Vaccine Booster

The emerging SARS-CoV-2 variants and waning vaccine-elicited immunity are two public health challenges that occurred simultaneously and synergistically during the summer of 2021 and led to a surging demand for COVID-19 vaccine booster dose (BD) rollout. This study aimed to evaluate the COVID-19 vaccine booster hesitancy (VBH) among Czech healthcare workers to explore the potential determinants of VBH. A national cross-sectional survey-based study was carried out between 3 and 11 November 2021, using an online self-administered questionnaire (SAQ) that explored the participants’ demographic characteristics, COVID-19 infection and vaccine anamneses, willingness to receive COVID-19 vaccine BD, and the psychosocial drivers of VBH. A total of 3454 HCW properly responded to the online SAQ, of which 80.9% were females, 30.3% were medical professionals, and 50.5% were ≤47 years old. Most of the participants were already inoculated against SARS-CoV-2 (95.2%), and BTN162b2 was the most commonly administered vaccine (90.7%). As the study sample was planned to represent the target population, it revealed a high level of BD acceptance (71.3%) among Czech HCW, while 12.2% were still hesitant and 16.6% were against the currently available BD. These results are consistent with other recent results from central Europe. Medical professional, male, and older participants were more likely to accept BD rather than allied health professional, female, and younger participants. The BDs’ perceived effectiveness against severe illness, symptomatic infection, and community transmission was a significant and strong predictor for BD acceptance, while the effectiveness against the circulating variants was not that important for our target population. The BDs’ perceived safety and ethical dilemmas of vaccine justice should be addressed sufficiently while communicating with HCW and other population groups. The altruistic reasons for BD acceptance, i.e., family protection, patient protection, and community health protection, underpin the recommendation of postponing the COVID-19 vaccine mandating in favour of stressing these altruistic concerns amid public health messaging.

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Eastern Cape Healthcare Workers Acquisition of SARS-CoV-2 (ECHAS): Cross-Sectional (Nested Cohort) Study Protocol

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph18010323 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (1) ◽

pp. 323

Author(s):

Oladele Vincent Adeniyi ◽

David Stead ◽

Mandisa Singata-Madliki ◽

Joanne Batting ◽

Leo Hyera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Infection Rate ◽

Healthcare Workers ◽

Health Facilities ◽

Control Measures ◽

Infection Prevention And Control ◽

Eastern Cape ◽

Rt Pcr ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Increased Risk

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of infection by the virulent severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2). Though data exist on the positivity rate of the SARS-CoV-2 reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test as well as COVID-19-related deaths amongst HCWs in South Africa, the overall infection rate remains underestimated by these indicators. It is also unclear whether the humoral immune response after SARS-CoV-2 infection offers durable protection against reinfection. This study will assess the SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence amongst HCWs in the Eastern Cape (EC) and examine the longitudinal changes (rate of decay) in the antibody levels after infection in this cohort. Using a multi-stage cluster sampling of healthcare workers in selected health facilities in the EC, a cross-sectional study of 2250 participants will be recruited. In order to assess the community infection rate, 750 antenatal women in the same settings will be recruited. Relevant demographic and clinical characteristics will be obtained by a self-administered questionnaire. A chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA) will be used for the qualitative detection of IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid protein. A nested cohort study will be conducted by performing eight-weekly antibody assays (X2) from 201 participants who tested positive for both SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR and serology. Logistic regression models will be fitted to identify the independent risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection. The cumulative SARS-CoV-2 infection rate and infection fatality rate among the frontline HCWs will be estimated. In addition, the study will highlight the overall effectiveness of infection prevention and control measures (IPC) per exposure sites/wards at the selected health facilities. Findings will inform the South African Department of Health’s policies on how to protect HCWs better as the country prepares for the second wave of the SARS-CoV pandemic.

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Influenza vaccination and the risk of COVID-19 infection and severe illness in older adults in the United States

Scientific Reports ◽

10.1038/s41598-021-90068-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Kelly Huang ◽

Shu-Wen Lin ◽

Wang-Huei Sheng ◽

Chi-Chuan Wang

Keyword(s):

Immune Responses ◽

Influenza Vaccine ◽

Influenza Vaccination ◽

The United States ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Severe Illness ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Study Population ◽

Health Database

AbstractThe coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) has caused a global pandemic and led to nearly three million deaths globally. As of April 2021, there are still many countries that do not have COVID-19 vaccines. Before the COVID-19 vaccines were developed, some evidence suggested that an influenza vaccine may stimulate nonspecific immune responses that reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection or the severity of COVID-19 illness after infection. This study evaluated the association between influenza vaccination and the risk of COVID-19 infection. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study with data from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2020 with the Claims data from Symphony Health database. The study population was adults age 65 years old or older who received influenza vaccination between September 1 and December 31 of 2019. The main outcomes and measures were odds of COVID-19 infection and severe COVID-19 illness after January 15, 2020. We found the adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of COVID-19 infection risk between the influenza-vaccination group and no-influenza-vaccination group was 0.76 (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.75–0.77). Among COVID-19 patients, the aOR of developing severe COVID-19 illness was 0.72 (95% CI, 0.68–0.76) between the influenza-vaccination group and the no-influenza-vaccination group. When the influenza-vaccination group and the other-vaccination group were compared, the aOR of COVID-19 infection was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.93–0.97), and the aOR of developing a severe COVID-19 illness was 0.95 (95% CI, 0.80–1.13). The influenza vaccine may marginally protect people from COVID-19 infection.

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Costs of Early Stage Alzheimer’s Disease in the United States: Cross-Sectional Analysis of a Prospective Cohort Study (GERAS-US)1

Journal of Alzheimer s Disease ◽

10.3233/jad-191212 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 75 (2) ◽

pp. 437-450

Author(s):

Rebecca L. Robinson ◽

Dorene M. Rentz ◽

Jeffrey Scott Andrews ◽

Anthony Zagar ◽

Yongin Kim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Alzheimer’S Disease ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort Study ◽

Prospective Cohort ◽

Early Stage ◽

The United States ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Cross Sectional Analysis ◽

Sectional Analysis

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Internal consistency and factor structure of Jenkins Sleep Scale: cross-sectional cohort study among 80 000 adults

BMJ Open ◽

10.1136/bmjopen-2020-043276 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (1) ◽

pp. e043276

Author(s):

Juhani Juhola ◽

J P A Arokoski ◽

Jenni Ervasti ◽

Mika Kivimäki ◽

Jussi Vahtera ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Internal Consistency ◽

Common Factor ◽

Secondary Outcome ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Healthy Working ◽

Confirmatory Factor ◽

Working Age ◽

Working Age Population

ObjectivesTo assess the internal consistency and construct validity of the Finnish translation of the Jenkins Sleep Scale (JSS) in a large healthy working-age population with diverse work characteristics.DesignSurvey-based cross-sectional cohort study.SettingSurvey conducted by an institute of occupational health.ParticipantsEmployees of 10 towns and 6 hospital districts.Primary and secondary outcome measuresThe internal consistency defined by a Cronbach’s alpha. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to evaluate the construct structure of the JSS.ResultsOf 81 136 respondents, 14 890 (18%) were men and 66 246 (82%) were women. Their average age was 52.1 (13.2) years. Of the respondents, 41 823 (52%) were sleeping 7 or less hours per night. The mean JSS total score was 6.4 (4.8) points. The JSS demonstrated high internal consistency with an alpha of 0.80 (lower 95% confidence limit 0.80). Exploratory factor analysis supported a one-factor solution with eigenvalue of 1.94. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that all four items were positively correlated with a single common factor explaining 44%–61% of common factor’s variance.ConclusionsThe Finnish translation of JSS was found to be a unidimensional scale with good internal consistency. As such, the scale may be recommended as a practicable questionnaire when studying sleep difficulties in a healthy working-age population.

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