SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Rate and SARS-CoV-2 Infection of Health Care Workers in Aerosol-Generating Medical Disciplines

Abstract

Healthcare workers (HCW) who perform aerosol-generating procedures (AGP) are at high risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Data on infection rates and vaccination are limited. A nationwide, cross-sectional study focusing on AGP-related specialties was conducted between 3 May 2021 and 14 June 2021. Vaccination rates among HCW, perception of infection risk, and infection rates were analyzed, focusing on the comparison of gastrointestinal endoscopy (GIE) and other AGP-related specialties (NON-GIE), from the beginning of the pandemic until the time point of the study. Infections rates among HCW developed similarly to the general population during the course of the pandemic, however, with significantly higher infections rates among the GIE specialty. The perceived risk of infection was distributed similarly among HCW in GIE and NON-GIE (91.7%, CI: 88.6–94.4 vs. 85.8%, CI: 82.4–89.0; p < 0.01) with strongest perceived threats posed by AGPs (90.8%) and close patient contact (70.1%). The very high vaccination rate (100–80%) among physicians was reported at 83.5%, being significantly more frequently reported than among nurses (56.4%, p < 0.01). GIE had more often stated very high vaccination rate compared with NON-GIE (76.1% vs. 65.3%, p < 0.01). A significantly higher rate of GIE was reported to have fewer concerns regarding infection risk after vaccination than NON-GIE (92.0% vs. 80.3%, p < 0.01).

Evaluation of real and perceived risk to health care workers caring for patients with the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in surgery and obstetrics

“…Further, most of the survey respondents in both the 2020/21 group and the 2022 Omicron group indicated that they felt safe with the PPE they were provided. This contrasts with the results of the previous studies reporting low HCW satisfaction with PPE provided and safety at work [15][16][17][18][19] . In a study that was conducted in Qatar from June 2020 to July 2020, Ismail et.…”

“…al conducted in Singapore from July 2020 to September 2020 also found that only 13.7% of the participating HCW were 'highly confident' of the protection provided by the PPE 17 . However, the measures used to evaluate "feeling safe" or "satisfaction with" or "being confident" with the PPE used in these studies were different, and it is also important to keep in mind that these studies took place in different countries during a different time period when PPE shortage could have been possibly a more pertinent issue [15][16][17][18][19] . Interestingly, in our HCW survey we found a significant difference between nurses and physicians in terms of how safe they felt with the PPE they were provided.…”

“…HCWs' perception of safety in their work environments has been investigated, particularly during the early stages of the pandemic [15][16][17][18][19] . Previous studies conducted around the world have indicated that personal protective equipment (PPE) shortage, insufficient protection provided by the PPE and fear of infection have all contributed to HCWs feeling unsafe at their workplaces [15][16][17][18][19] . However, whether these sentiments are shared by HCWs in Canada during more recent waves of the pandemic is not known.…”

Medical Residents’ Behaviours toward Compulsory COVID-19 Vaccination in a Tertiary Hospital in Italy

“…According to our findings, the rate of resident doctors who adhered to the COVID-19 vaccination programme is close to 100%; in fact, only 0.26% of them did not receive a vaccination. These results show a very high compliance rate of MRs towards compulsory vaccination even compared to studies performed in other states [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ].…”