ABSTRACT
Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in significant hospitalizations and deaths, particularly among healthcare workers (HCWs). Various therapeutic and preventive measures have been introduced, with vaccination considered the primary preventive measure. This study aims to assess the perceptions and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination among HCWs. Methods We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study on HCWs in hospitals located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The study included physicians, nurses, pharmacists, lab technicians, and radiologists who work in the Ministry of Health's general hospitals. A total of 394 participants were included in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS v26, and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results A majority of the participants (72.6%) were female, aged between 31-40 years (55.3%), and married (59.6%). More than half of the participants (55.6%) had received training on dealing with COVID-19. The mean scores for COVID-19 vaccine refusal, perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, and perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination were 18.36 ± 7.02, 14.48 ± 3.62, 11.51 ± 2.99, 12.39 ± 3.5, 8.25 ± 2.35, and 8.40 ± 2.46, respectively. Age was found to be correlated with the perceived severity of COVID-19 in non-vaccination (p=0.048), while gender was associated with the perceived severity of COVID-19 (p=0.015). Marital status (p=0.001), years of experience (p=0.009), profession (p=0.019), and education (p=0.028) were found to be correlated with perceived susceptibility. Education levels were found to be correlated with the perceived benefits of vaccination (p=0.007), perceived barriers to vaccines (p=0.002), and vaccine views (p=0.002). Years of experience (p=0.017) were found to be correlated with perceived severity of COVID-19, while profession type was significantly associated with perceived severity of COVID-19 (p=0.016) and vaccine view (p=0.008) Conclusion The study found that participants had a positive perception and high acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. The results also indicated that various sociodemographic factors were associated with the perception and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among HCWs. These findings could help in formulating effective strategies to improve vaccination uptake rates among HCWs, thereby reducing transmission and mortality among Health Care Workers due to COVID-19.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of COVID-19 infection in cancer patients is critical to co-manage their underlying disease and infection appropriately. Our study aimed at evaluating the sensitivity and specificity of screening patients with cancer for COVID-19 infection. METHODS: All oncology patients receiving care at Department of Oncology at King Abdulaziz Medical City in Riyadh were screened using the acute respiratory infection (ARI) survey. Nasopharyngeal and throat swap for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) was performed on patients who have high ARI score (i.e. ≥ 4), or any patient requiring elective/emergency hospitalization, undergoing a procedure as well as screening asymptomatic patients receiving chemotherapy between April 1st and July 30, 2020. Institutional Review Board approval was obtained. Descriptive and inferential analyses were done and sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive values (PPV and NPV) were calculated considering the COVID-19 PCR as the gold standard. RESULTS: During the study period, a total of 473 patients were included with a median age was 56 years (14-104), 51% were female, 73% had solid tumors, and 66% received treatment within the last 3 months. These patients underwent 688 PCR tests along with ARI survey screening. Testing was done in the outpatient, inpatient, and emergency department setting in 41%, 40% and 19% of the patients, respectively. Majority of tests were screening of asymptomatic patients and only 23% were tested for suspected infections with ARI ≥ 4. A total of 54 patients (8%) had positive PCR for COVID-19 infection. The prevalence of infection varied from month to month ranging from 1.09% in April up to 19.70% in June and correlated with the average daily and active case load at a national level. The diagnostic yield of the ARI score also correlated with infection burden nationally. The PPV and NPV of the ARI as a screening tool was 18.24% (0-31.8) and 95.6% (86.36-98.86%) with the PPN fluctuating considerably in parallel with the prevalence of COVID-19 result. Similarly, the sensitivity and specificity of the ARI were 55.77% (0-70.59) and 79.4 (69.19-92), respectively. CONCLUSION: The yield of screening asymptomatic patients with cancer varies based on the community burden of COVID-19 infection. As universal screening can cause delays to patient care, it should be tailored based on the individual patient risks and infection burden in the region.