Risks of catching COVID-19 according to vaccination status of healthcare workers during the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant dominant period and their clinical characteristics.

Abstract

The exposure of healthcare workers (HCWs) to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus‐2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) has been a major concern since the beginning of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. The study aimed to investigate the relationship between vaccination status and the status of catching COVID‐19 in HCWs working in a Training and Research Hospital in Turkey, and the clinical course of the disease in those who were caught. The vaccination status of 1279 HCWs working at Siirt Training and Research Hospital during the period when the SARS‐CoV‐2 Delta variant was dominant, their cases of catching COVID‐19 during this period, and the clinical course of the disease in patients with COVID‐19 were investigated retrospectively. We found that the rate of COVID‐19 transmission was lowest in fully vaccinated HCWs (p < 0.05). The rate of COVID‐19 transmission in HCWs who received two doses of BioNTech vaccine (4.4%) and two doses of CoronaVac+ one dose of BioNTech vaccines (2.7%) was considerably lower than those without vaccination (26.2%) (p < 0.05). The transmission rate was lowest among those vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac+ one dose of BioNTech. Hospitalization was not required in fully vaccinated HCWs. The lymphocyte count was found to be significantly higher in fully vaccinated patients than incompletely vaccinated and unvaccinated patients. Although C‐reactive protein (CRP), d‐dimer, and ferritin values were higher in unvaccinated and partially vaccinated patients than in fully vaccinated patients, the differences were not statistically significant. As a result, the transmission rate of COVID‐19 was lowest in fully vaccinated HCWs and in those vaccinated with two doses of CoronaVac+ one dose of BioNTech. In fully vaccinated HCWs, hospitalization was not needed.