Identifying higher risk subgroups of health care workers for priority vaccination against COVID-19

Autor: Mohsina Haq, Asif Rehman, Momina Haq, Hala Haq, Hala Rajab, Junaid Ahmad, Jawad Ahmed, Saeed Anwar, Sajjad Ahmad, Najib Ul Haq
Rok vydání: 2021
Zdroj: Therapeutic advances in vaccines and immunotherapy. 10
ISSN: 2515-1355
Popis: Background: Health care workers (HCWs) are exposed to high risk of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection due to close contact with infected patients in hospital. The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence and to identify the exposure risk of various subgroups among HCWs to prioritize them for early vaccination. Methods: This was a multicentre cross-sectional study conducted between 15 and 29 June 2020. A total of 987 HCWs were recruited randomly from two major tertiary-care hospitals of Peshawar city, Pakistan. The HCWs included doctors, nurses, paramedics and hospital support staff. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA)–approved kit was used for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies. Results: Overall, 310 (31.4%) HCWs were seropositive for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies (95% confidence interval, CI: 28.5–34.4). Seroprevalence was higher in males (33.5%) and in age group 51–60 years (40.9%). Seropositivity increased with increasing age from 8.3% in age group ⩽20 to 40.9% in 51–60 years of age group ( p Conclusion: Overall, our results concluded that nursing and paramedical staff are at higher risk and should be vaccinated on priority.
Databáze: OpenAIRE