Safety and Adverse Effects of Inactive SARS-Cov-2 Vaccine (CoronaVac) in Health Care Professionals.

OBJECTIVE: To assess adverse effects post-vaccination in healthcare professionals in the first vaccinated group against coronavirus disease-2019. METHODS: The retrospective study was conducted at the Indus Hospital, Badin, The prospective study was conducted at the vaccination unit of a university hospital in Tekirdag, Turkey, from January to February 2021, and comprised healthcare professionals who came for receiving the second dose of the coronavirus disease-2019 inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine 28 days after the first dose. Data was analysed using SPSS 18. RESULTS: Of the 1088 subjects, 714(65.6%) were female with mean age 29.85±9.2 years and 374(34.4%) were male with mean age 29.57±9.85 years. Overall, local pain in the vaccinated area 495(45.5%), fatigue 266(24.4%), headache 261(23.9%) and muscle pain 197(18.1%) were very common adverse effects. CONCLUSIONS: Inactivated severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine was found to be safe.

C-Reactive Protein-to-Albumin Ratio as a Prognostic Inflammatory Marker in COVID-19.

Objectives As a result of developed generalized inflammation, the main prognostic factor determining morbidity and mortality in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients is acute respiratory distress syndrome. The purpose of our study was to define (1) the laboratory tests that will contribute to the diagnosis and follow-up of COVID-19 patients, (2) the differences between the laboratory-confirmed (LC), unconfirmed (LUC), and control (C) groups, and (3) the variation between groups of acute-phase reactants and biomarkers that can be used as an indicator of disease severity and inflammation. Materials and Methods A total of 102 patients undergoing treatment with COVID-19 interim guidelines were evaluated. Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test was positive in 56 (LC), classified as mild or severe, and negative in 46 (LUC) patients. In addition, 30 healthy subjects (C) with negative RT-PCR tests were also evaluated. All statistical analyses were performed with the SPSS 22.0 program and the p -values for significant findings were less than 0.05. Parametric/nonparametric distribution was determined by performing the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test for all groups. Student's t -test was used for variables with parametric distribution and the Mann-Whitney U-test for variables with the nonparametric distribution. A cut-off level for biomarkers was determined using the ROC (receiver operator characteristic) curve. Results In the LC group, platelet, platecrit, mean platelet volume, platelet diameter width, white blood cell, lymphocyte, eosinophil, neutrophil, immature granulocyte, immature lymphocyte, immature monocyte, large immune cell, and atypical lymphocyte counts among the complete blood count parameters of mature and immature cell counts showed a significant difference according to the C and LUC groups. C-reactive protein, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio, and C-reactive protein-to-albumin ratio (CAR) indices were significantly elevated in LC patients and were significantly higher in patients classified as severe compared to mild. When CAR optimal cutoff was determined as 0.475, area under the curve was 0.934, sensitivity was 90.91%, specificity was 86.21%, positive predictive value was 92.59%, and negative predictive value was 83.33%. The diagnostic accuracy for CAR was 89.29%. Conclusion The CAR index with the highest diagnostic value and the highest predictability could be the most useful biomarker in the diagnosis and evaluation of disease severity in COVID-19 patients.

Immunogenicity after CoronaVac vaccination.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to investigate the seropositivity of CoronaVac-SinoVac vaccination in severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) risk factors and comorbidities. METHODS: Immunoglobulin (IgG) antibody responses were examined on the 21st day after the second dose of CoronaVac-SinoVac 6 µg vaccine on the 28th day. SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody levels were measured by using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay method in vaccinated health care workers (n=134) (Group I), vaccinated polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (+) who had coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) disease (n=21) (Group II), and unvaccinated PCR (+) (n=28) (Group III) participants. Subgroups were formed in Group I according to the presence of COVID-19 risk factors and comorbidities (diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, and asthma/allergy) and demographic data. RESULTS: Seropositivity rates were 95.5, 100, and 89.3% for Groups I, II, and III, respectively. IgG antibody levels were found significantly higher in the group between the ages of 20-30 in group I compared to those aged 31-50 and over 50 (both p<0.01). It was found significantly higher in normal-weight individuals than in the overweight and obese group (both p<0.01). IgG antibody levels were found significantly lower in people with cardiovascular disease and diabetes mellitus compared with those who did not (p<0.05 and p<0.001, respectively). There was a negative correlation between IgG antibody response values and body mass index and age in Group I (r= -0.336, p<0.001 and r= -0.307, p<0.001, respectively). CONCLUSION: IgG antibody values decrease with age and with increasing body mass index. The presence of comorbidities (i.e., diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease) decreased COVID-19 IgG antibody values.