Actions and attitudes on the immunized patients against SARS-CoV-2

The access to COVID vaccines by millions of human beings and their high level of protection against the disease, both in its mild and severe forms, together with a plausible decrease in the transmission of the infection from vaccinated patients, has prompted a series of questions from the members of the College of Physicians of Madrid (ICOMEM) and the society. The ICOMEM Scientific Committee on this subject has tried to answer these questions after discussion and consensus among its members. The main answers can be summarized as follows: The occurrence of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in both vaccinated and previously infected patients is very low, in the observation time we already have. When breakthrough infections do occur, they are usually asymptomatic or mild and, purportedly, should have a lower capacity for transmission to other persons. Vaccinated subjects who have contact with a SARS-CoV-2 infected patient can avoid quarantine as long as they are asymptomatic, although this decision depends on variables such as age, occupation, circulating variants, degree of contact and time since vaccination. In countries with a high proportion of the population vaccinated, it is already suggested that fully vaccinated persons could avoid the use of masks and social distancing in most circumstances. Systematic use of diagnostic tests to assess the immune response or the degree of protection against reinfection after natural infection or vaccination is discouraged, since their practical consequences are not known at this time. The existing information precludes any precision regarding a possible need for future revaccination. This Committee considers that when mass vaccination of health care workers and the general population is achieved, SARS-CoV-2 screening tests could be avoided at least in outpatient care and in the case of exploratory procedures that do not require hospitalization.

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Screening for Tuberculosis in Health Care Workers: Experience in an Italian Teaching Hospital

BioMed Research International ◽

10.1155/2017/7538037 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-6 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Christian Napoli ◽

Filippo Ferretti ◽

Filippo Di Ninno ◽

Riccardo Orioli ◽

Alessandra Marani ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Teaching Hospital ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Screening Tests ◽

Specificity And Sensitivity ◽

Large Teaching Hospital ◽

Care Workers ◽

Low Incidence ◽

Positive Results

Health care workers (HCW) are particularly at risk of acquiring tuberculosis (TB), even in countries with low TB incidence. Therefore, TB screening in HCW is a useful prevention strategy in countries with both low and high TB incidence. Tuberculin skin test (TST) is widely used although it suffers of low specificity; on the contrary, the in vitro enzyme immunoassay tests (IGRA) show superior specificity and sensitivity but are more expensive. The present study reports the results of a three-year TB surveillance among HCW in a large teaching hospital in Rome, using TST (by standard Mantoux technique) and IGRA (by QuantiFERON-TB) as first- and second-level screening tests, respectively. Out of 2290 HCW enrolled, 141 (6.1%) had a positive TST; among them, 99 (70.2%) underwent the IGRA and 16 tested positive (16.1%). The frequency of HCW tested positive for TB seems not far from other experiences in low incidence countries. Our results confirm the higher specificity of IGRA, but, due to its higher cost, TST can be considered a good first level screening test, whose positive results should be further confirmed by IGRA before the patients undergo X-ray diagnosis and/or chemotherapy.

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Interventions for Improving Health Care Workers’ Retention in Epidemics – a Scoping Review

10.21203/rs.3.rs-951428/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Zahra Zarei Jelyani ◽

Sadra Valiee ◽

Mohammad Kia ◽

Ali jajarmizadeh ◽

Sajad Delavari

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Human Resources ◽

Health System ◽

Human Health ◽

Scoping Review ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Resources ◽

The United States ◽

Human Beings ◽

Care Workers

Abstract Introduction: Generally, in Epidemics, such as COVID-19, health care workers (HCWs) faces many problems which lead to a shortage and weakening of human resources in the health system. Therefore, using effective strategies to retain human resources is one of the most important issues during outbreaks. This study aims to collect and classify the proposed interventions to strengthen human health resources and their sustainability during epidemics through scoping review.Methods: In this scoping review study, 2300 studies were retrieved through searching international databases –PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Web of Science. The retrieved studies were screened, and finally, 50 studies were included for analysis. The strategies were classified using inductive qualitative content analysis.Results: Most of the studies were conducted in the United States and the United Kingdom. The target population in 39 studies was all health workers; five studies were on physicians, five studies on nurses, and only one study on dentists. The proposed interventions were classified into five categories: preparation, protection, support, treatment, and feedback. Discussion: Most studies focused on providing interventions in one or two dimensions of human resources, but these interventions were summarized and categorized in this review. Therefore, this study has a holistic view of various dimensions of strengthening and maintaining human health resources during epidemics by providing a thematic map. Considering that human beings are multidimensional, policymakers and managers of the health system should use a set of interventions that simultaneously cover different aspects of their needs to strengthen and maintain HCWs.

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COMPARATIVE IMMUNOGENICITY OF BNT162b2 mRNA VACCINE WITH NATURAL COVID-19 INFECTION

10.1101/2021.06.15.21258669 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mina Psichogiou ◽

Andreas Karabinis ◽

Garyphallia Poulakou ◽

Anastasia Antoniadou ◽

Anastasia Kotanidou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care Workers ◽

Nucleocapsid Protein ◽

Natural Infection ◽

Multivariable Analysis ◽

Severe Infection ◽

Spike Protein ◽

Care Workers ◽

Number Of Individuals ◽

High Immunogenicity ◽

Clinical Subgroup

The mRNA vaccine BNT162b2 has proven highly effective and currently many millions are being vaccinated. There are limited and conflicting data from immunogenicity studies on the effects of age, gender, vaccination side effects (VSE), risk factors for severe COVID-19 (RFS-COV), obesity (BMI) and previous SARS-CoV-2 (Pr-CoV) Moreover, immunogenicity data from COVID-19 patients comparing various disease categories of natural infection i.e. asymptomatic vs mild vs moderate vs severe infection are sparse, and include limited number of individuals. This study included 871 vaccinated health care workers (HCW) and 181 patients with natural infection. Immunogenicity was assessed by a quantative assay measuring anti-SARS-CoV-2 against the RBD domain of the spike protein (anti-RBD) and anti-SARS-CoV-2 against nucleocapsid protein (anti-N). Samples were collected 1-2 weeks after completion of the 2nd dose in the vaccinated HCWs and 15-59 days post symptoms onset in patients with natural infection. The concentration of anti-RBD in vaccinated individuals after multivariable analysis was significantly associated with age, gender, VSE and Pr-CoV. Specifically, anti-RBD median levels (95% CI) were lower by 2,466 (651-5,583), 6,228 (3,254-9,203) and 7,651 (4,479-10,823) AU/ml in 35-44, 45-54, 55-70 yrs respectively, compared with 18-34 yrs group. In females, median levels of anti-RBD were higher by 2,823 (859-4,787) compared with males, in individuals with VSE were higher by 5,024 (3,122-6,926) compared with no VSE, and in HCWs with Pr-CoV were higher by 9,971 (5,158-14,783) AU/ml compared with HCWs without Pr-CoV. Among individuals with natural infection, the median anti-RBD levels were 14.8 times higher in patients with critical COVID-19 infection compared with non-hospitalized individuals. The ratio of anti-RBD in vaccinated individuals versus those with natural infection varied from 1.0 up to 19.4 according to the clinical subgroup of natural infection. This study proves the high immunogenicity of BNT162b2 vaccine although its sustainability remains to be seen. The use of comparative data from natural infection serological panels, expressing the clinical heterogeneity of natural infection may facilitate early decisions for vaccine evaluation in clinical trials.

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Stressors and Coping Strategies During the Outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 Among Hospital Staff: A Case Study in Iran

Quarterly of Horizon of Medical Sciences ◽

10.32598/hms.27.2.3289.1 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 27 (2) ◽

pp. 148-163

Author(s):

Fatemeh Mohammadzadeh ◽

◽

Ali Delshad Noghabi ◽

Javad Bazeli ◽

Hamidreza Karimi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Stress Intensity ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Coping Styles ◽

Hospital Staff ◽

Maladaptive Coping ◽

Care Workers ◽

High Level ◽

And Coping ◽

Sports Activities

Aims: The emergence of COVID-19 disease has created significant stress and anxiety for health care workers. This study aimed to investigate the stressors and coping strategies in the staff of Allameh Bohlool Hospital in Gonabad City, Iran, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease. Methods & Materials: This cross-sectional study was performed on 252 employees of Allameh Bohlool Hospital in Gonabad from March 2020 to April 2020. Study tools included a brief form of coping styles (Brief-COPE) and a researcher-made questionnaire of stressors due to the emergence of COVID-19 among health care workers. The obtained data were analyzed using linear regression and ordinal regression models at the significance level of 0.05. Findings: About 74.2%, 69.4%, 52.7%, 52.7%, and 99.2% of the hospital staff had moderate to high stress in the domains of internal, family-social, workplace-related, infection control, and government measures, respectively. The degree of using adaptive and maladaptive coping styles used by staff were 52.0% and 23.8% at the moderate to the high level, respectively. Maladaptive coping styles had a positive and significant relationship with stress intensity so that for each unit increase in maladaptive coping score, the odds of experiencing higher levels of stress increased 1.24 to 1.45 times (P<0.001). Also, the odds of experiencing higher levels of stress in those who had sports activities was 24% to 76% lower (P=0.003). Conclusion: The findings of the present study indicated a high level of stress among hospital staff. Also, the use of maladaptive coping styles and sports activities had a significant positive and negative relationship with stress intensity, respectively. Therefore, designing effective interventions focusing on reducing maladaptive coping patterns among hospital staff and encouraging people to engage in sports activities can help manage stress as much as possible due to the outbreak of COVID-19 disease.

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Assessment of Knowledge and vaccination status towards Hepatitis B Virus among health care workers in private clinics of Addis ketema sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1096373/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Amanuel Kelem Bekele ◽

Hikma Abdulwahab ◽

Ekram Mohammedawol ◽

Ruth Yohannes

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Hepatitis B Virus ◽

Hepatitis B ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Addis Ababa ◽

Vaccination Status ◽

Care Workers ◽

B Virus ◽

Level Of Knowledge ◽

High Level

Abstract Background: Hepatitis B Virus is a DNA virus of the hepadnaviridae family of viruses. It replicates within infected liver cells (hepatocytes) and may cause acute and chronic hepatitis.The hepatitis B vaccine is the mainstay of hepatitis B prevention. Since 1982, safe and effective hepatitis B virus vaccines have been commercially available. the aim of this study was to assess knowledge towards Hepatitis B Virus among health care workers in relation to their vaccination status in private clinics of Addis ketema sub-city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Methods(design): A cross-sectional studywas conducted and multi-stage sampling technique was used and in total 231 healthcareworkers were enrolled in the study, which was conducted in private clinics of Addisketema sub-city. self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the health care workers. The collected data was entered intoEpi-data and analyzed using SPSS 25. Results: Two hundred thirty one healthcare workers completed and returned the questionnaires giving an overall response rate of 97%.Only 66 (28.6%) respondents reported that they received one or more doses of Hepatitis B vaccine. From these, 43 (65.2%) received three doses which was only 18.6% of the total Workers.participants with poor and moderate knowledge had equal proportion 92(39.8%) ,while only 47 (20.3%) were found to have high-level of knowledge .Having high-level of knowledge was not a statistically significant predictor of vaccination uptake. Conclusions: Hepatitis B Virus vaccination coverage and knowledge were poor among health care workers. Therefore: educational intervention and provision of vaccinationis recommended for these vulnerable workers of Addis-ketema sub city, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

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Assessment of Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices towards New Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) of Health Care Professionals in Greece before the Outbreak Period

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17144925 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (14) ◽

pp. 4925 ◽

Cited By ~ 10

Author(s):

Dimitrios Papagiannis ◽

Foteini Malli ◽

Dimitrios G. Raptis ◽

Ioanna V. Papathanasiou ◽

Evangelos C. Fradelos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Knowledge Score ◽

Attitudes And Practices ◽

Care Workers ◽

Level Of Knowledge ◽

High Level ◽

Educational Campaigns ◽

Knowledge Attitudes And Practices

Introduction: The ongoing severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)-CoV-2 pandemic has expanded globally. The aim of the current study is to investigate the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of health care professionals in Greece towards SARS-CoV-2. Methods: From 10–25 February 2020, 500 health care workers were approached. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices towards SARS-CoV-2 were assessed via a personal interview questionnaire. For knowledge, each correct answer was given 1 point; attitudes, or concerns aimed at prevention of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and practices, or behaviors towards performing preventive practices, were assigned 1 point each. Points were summed and a score for each category was calculated. Results: A total of 461 health care workers returned the questionnaire and were included in the analysis (mean age ± SD: 44.2 ± 10.78 years, 74% females). The majority were nurses (47.5%), followed by physicians (30.5%) and paramedics (19%). The majority of subjects (88.28%) had a good level of knowledge (knowledge score equal to 4, or more). The majority of participants (71%) agreed with the temporary traveling restrictions ban. The uptake of a future vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 was estimated at 43%. Knowledge score was significantly associated with both attitudes score (p = 0.011) and practices score (p < 0.001), indicating that subjects with a high knowledge score demonstrated a more positive perception on preventive measures and would practice more preventive measures. Attitudes score was significantly associated with practices score (p = 0.009) indicating that subjects with a higher attitudes score are more likely to perform practices towards the prevention of SARS-CoV-2 transmission. Conclusion: There is a high level of knowledge concerning SARS-CoV-2 pandemic among Greek health care workers and this is significantly associated with positive attitudes and practices towards preventive health measures. The high level of knowledge of health professionals about SARS-CoV-2 may have contributed considerably to the successful management of the pandemic in Greece. Tailored educational campaigns aiming to increase the proportion of health care workers willing to accept a potential SARS-CoV-2 vaccine could be of paramount importance in future proactive vaccine educational campaigns.

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Immunity status of Health Care Workers post recovery from COVID-19: An online longitudinal panel survey

10.1101/2020.11.27.20239426 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

S B Shah ◽

R Chawla ◽

A Pahade ◽

N Bansal ◽

A Mehta ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Virus Disease ◽

Natural Infection ◽

Panel Survey ◽

Plasma Therapy ◽

Priority List ◽

Corona Virus ◽

Care Workers ◽

Prospective Longitudinal

AbstractBackgroundCorona virus has literally travelled “around the world in 80 days” akin to Fogg and Passepartoute of Jules Verne fame. Manning of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) wards and ICUs, also surgery on COVID-positive patients is increasingly being relegated to that subset of health care workers (HCW) who themselves have resumed duties after surviving COVID-19 infection. Convalescent plasma therapy has been widely endorsed. Several vaccines are in the pipeline as potential preventive measures against the virus keeping HCW on the priority-list of recipients. Immunity passports are being validated for foreign travel. These events share a common presumption that exposure to COVID-19 virus (natural infection/inoculation) produces protective adaptive immunity. It is unknown whether all (COVID-19) infected patients mount a protective immune response and for how long any protective effect will last.MethodsThis single institutional prospective longitudinal panel survey questions were deployed to the respondents online via email/WhatsApp groups to ascertain the symptomology and immunity status of HCW in the months following COVID-19 infection. The survey was administered to the same set/cohort of health care workers over 6 months.Results165 responses from 151 respondents (70 at 1-2months; 95 at 3-4 months including 14 at both time points) were analysed. 7.14% of infected HCW failed to develop IgG antibodies at 4-6 weeks. 91.7% HCW with IgG titres in the highest bracket had experienced anosmia. Mean antibody titres were 12.08 ± 9.56 and 9.72 ± 9.34 at 1-2 months and 3-4 months post-development of first symptom, respectively.ConclusionUnderstanding of COVID-19 patterns of variation in HCW may guide their deployment in the COVID ward and COVID-OTs. Revelation of this enigma (by quantification of serial IgG antibody levels) is critical for predicting response to vaccines under trial, fostering effective stratagems and tactics for pandemic control, ascertaining validity of immunity passports and understanding longevity/durability of protection by forecasting immunological memory against SARS-CoV-2.

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Frontline Health Care Workers’ Mental Workload During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Sectional Study

Asia Pacific Journal of Public Health ◽

10.1177/1010539521997257 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 101053952199725

Author(s):

Meichen Du ◽

Kaili Hu

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Mental Workload ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Mental Demand ◽

Care Workers ◽

Novel Coronavirus ◽

High Level

Workload is an essential factor affecting the performance of health care workers (HCWs). High level of mental workload increased their risks of insomnia, anxiety, and depression. This study committed to investigate frontline HCWs’ mental workload and analyze its influencing factors during the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A total of 802 frontline HCWs completed the online questionnaires. Their total mental workload score was 69.7 ± 16.4. Frontline HCWs were satisfied with their performance (4.0 ± 3.3) and showed a low level of frustration (8.3 ± 5.7). The most important dimensions of mental workload were “effort” (16.4 ± 13.7), “physical demand” (15.7 ± 4.7), and “mental demand” (12.9 ± 5.2). Frontline nurses and HCWs who have higher education level, longer working years, and higher professional title perceived higher mental workload scores ( P < .05). In conclusion, frontline HCWs’ mental workload was not high as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. They have made tremendous efforts and dedication to caring for COVID-19 patients. Job-related factors, some of which can be eliminated by proper management skills, increased frontline HCWs mental workload.

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COVID 19 and Psychological Impact across Lifespan

PERSPECTIVES IN MEDICAL RESEARCH - 2 ◽

10.47799//pimr.0802.03 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Sanjay Kumar Nadigapu Dayanand

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Psychological Health ◽

Vaccine Development ◽

Psychological Impact ◽

Human Beings ◽

Good Mental Health ◽

Care Workers ◽

The Individual

COVID-19 the present pandemic like all pandemics puts a strain on both the individual and the community. Human beings are social animals; they need interactions with other human beings in order to maintain good mental health, the present pandemic put a restriction on interactions between people in the form of social distancing, wearing of masks, use of sanitizers and soap and water, which are essential to control the spread of the corona virus but the flip side, it has reduced the family gatherings, going out for restaurants, factors to a great extent that will have impact on psychological health. Health infrastructure and health services across the globe are under enormous pressure and face unprecedented challenges. Medical professionals, health care workers, scientists and other front line workers are on the forefront on one hand they are providing health care to the Covid 19 affected patients and the other hand, building systemic responses both by dissemination of adequate public health approaches, and in parallel, genetic mapping, drug and vaccine development. Every day millions are being infected and thousands have died. This pandemic has put all aspects of normal life on hold. In this scenario mental health care takes a back seat to life or death decisions made by the exhausted health care workers.1

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Acceptability of COVID-19 Vaccination among Greek Health Professionals

Vaccines ◽

10.3390/vaccines9030200 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (3) ◽

pp. 200 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Dimitrios Papagiannis ◽

George Rachiotis ◽

Foteini Malli ◽

Ioanna V. Papathanasiou ◽

Ourania Kotsiou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Health Care Workers ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Online Survey ◽

Vaccination Campaign ◽

Vaccine Safety ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Care Workers ◽

Vaccination Acceptance ◽

High Level

Health Care Workers are at the front line of the fight against Covid-19. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptability of vaccination against COVID-19 among health professionals (physicians, dentists, pharmacists) two weeks prior to the start of the Greek vaccination campaign against COVID-19. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted over the period 15–22 December 2020 in 340 health professionals in Central Greece. We found a high level of acceptance for COVID-19 vaccine (78.5%) and a high vaccination coverage for the influenza vaccine (74%). Age > 45 years (OR = 2.01; 95% C.I. = 2.01−4.3), absence of fear over vaccine safety (OR = 4.09; 95% C.I. = 1.36–12.3), and information received from the Greek public health authorities (OR = 11.14; 95% C.I. = 5.48–22.6), were factors independently associated with the likelihood of COVID-19 vaccination acceptance. Our study indicates a high level of the COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among physicians, dentists and pharmacists. Nevertheless, several interventions can be implemented to increase acceptance of vaccine among health-care workers (HCWs) and could be especially directed at younger and vaccine-hesitant health care workers due to fear of vaccine side-effects. Last, our results provide some evidence that receiving vaccine-related information from the Greek Center for Diseases Control (E.O.D.Y.) could reduce the drivers of hesitancy and enhance the acceptability of COVID-19 vaccination.

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