Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Antibodies Among Healthcare Workers After Vaccine Administration in an Intensive Care Unit

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) emerged in China in December 2019. Healthcare workers (HCWs) are one of the high-risk groups of infection and knowledge of the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies among this class is very important, not only to understand the spread of COVID-19 among health institutions but also to assess the success of public health interventions. The objective of this prospective study was to determine the seroprevalence of COVID-19 immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies after vaccine administration and assess the symptomatology associated with the number of IgG antibodies. A total of 75 HCWs from an intensive care unit were studied three and six months after the second administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. They were divided into three groups: IgG antibodies between 4,160 and 6,350 (group one), greater than 6,350 (group two), and less than 4,160 (group three). After the first administration of the vaccine, 80% had symptoms in both groups one and two, whereas only 13.8% had symptoms in group three. After the second dose of the vaccine, all elements of group one and 80% of group two developed symptoms, but only 40% of group three manifested symptoms. With the exception of one, all professionals showed a decrease in the number of IgG antibodies from three to six months. Our findings show that professionals with a higher number of IgG antibodies had more symptoms and that these rapidly declined over the three-to-six-month period.