Evaluation of the Perceptions, Attitudes and Practices among Greek Non-Professional Athletes Visiting a Public Hospital during March 2022, towards COVID-19 Vaccination and Its Consequences on Sports Training and Sports Activity.

Sports have been majorly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. After the lockdown period, vaccination and protocols were implemented to return to normality. We aimed to assess the attitudes and practices related to COVID-19 vaccination among athletes, and to record adverse effects of vaccination, if any. A questionnaire was distributed to 1012 male and female athletes, 15+ years old, within the region of Athens. Vaccination coverage with at least one dose was 93.5%, whereas 53.9% were fully vaccinated. More than half of the participants were infected with SARS-CoV-2 at the time of the study. More than 90% of the participants, considered the vaccines as safe, effective and important for public health. Concern about potential side-effects was raised especially by women athletes (59.1% of women compared to 42.2% of men, p < 0.001). The main reasons for avoiding vaccination were fear of vaccine safety, concern about the short time period for vaccine development and testing and doubt of risk of being exposed to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The main reported side-effects were pain at the injection site, fatigue, fever and headache. Approximately two thirds of the participants reported that vaccination did not affect their training, and none reported missing participation in scheduled athletic events. Participants reported high compliance to preventive measures by themselves and fellow athletes, but low satisfaction regarding the implementation of public protocols and the flow of information provided by the authorities. Athletes of older age and those less concerned about potential side-effects were more likely to get fully vaccinated. Nevertheless, the vast majority of the athletes in our study were vaccinated for COVID-19 despite any hesitation regarding effectiveness, safety, or potential side-effects from the vaccines.

Increased Influenza Vaccination Coverage among Members of the Athens Medical Association Amidst COVID-19 Pandemic.

Healthcare workers are at high risk of influenza virus infection as well as of transmitting the infection to vulnerable patients who may be at high risk of severe illness. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the prevalence and related factors of influenza vaccination coverage (2020-2021flu season), among members of the Athens Medical Association in Greece. This survey employed secondary analysis data from a questionnaire-based dataset on COVID-19 vaccination coverage and associated factors from surveyed doctors, registered within the largest medical association in Greece. All members were invited to participate in the anonymous online questionnaire-based survey over the period of 25 February to 13 March 2021. Finally, 1993 physicians (60% males; 40% females) participated in the study. Influenza vaccination coverage was estimated at 76%. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that older age (OR = 1.02; 95% C.I. = 1.01-1.03), history of COVID-19 vaccination (OR = 2.71; 95% C.I. = 2.07-3.56) and perception that vaccines in general are safe (OR = 16.49; 95% C.I. = 4.51-60.25) were found to be independently associated factors with the likelihood of influenza vaccination coverage. Public health authorities should maximize efforts and undertake additional actions in order to increase the percentage of physicians/health care workers (HCWs) being immunized against influenza. The current COVID-19 pandemic offers an opportunity to focus on tailored initiatives and interventions aiming to improve the influenza vaccination coverage of HCWs in a spirit of synergy and cooperation.

Evaluation of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices Related to Self-Testing Procedure against COVID-19 among Greek Students: A Pilot Study.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on health, economy, society and education. In the effort to return to normalcy, according to the instructions of the Greek Government for the resumption of the operation of schools, a screening Rapid Antigen Detection Test with the method of self-testing is required for students twice per week, for the early identification and isolation of positive cases. We aimed to pivotally investigate the knowledge, attitudes and practices related to self-testing procedures against COVID-19 among Greek students. A questionnaire was distributed to a convenient sample of students in the region of Athens. Information about the vaccination coverage against SARS-CoV-2 was also obtained. Our study included 1000 students, with 70% of them having an average grade at school. Most of the participants were aware of coronavirus (98.6%) and the self-test (95.5%). The vast majority of students (97%) performed self-testing twice per week, with the 70% them being assisted by someone else. Nearly one sixth of the participants had been infected by COVID-19 (14%) while 36% of them have already been vaccinated against SARS-CoV-2. In conclusion, we report high compliance with the COVID-19 self-testing procedure among students in Attica, Greece. Older age adolescents are more likely to not comply with the regulations of self-testing. Consequently, tailored interventions targeted at older age adolescents are warranted in order to increase the acceptability of self-testing.

The Impact of Peripheral Eosinophil Counts and Eosinophil to Lymphocyte Ratio (ELR) in the Clinical Course of COVID-19 Patients: A Retrospective Study.

BACKGROUND/AIM: Eosinophils are blood cells responsible for response against parasites and allergens. Eosinophil to lymphocyte ratio (ELR) is a biomarker for inflammatory conditions. Our aim was to evaluate the role of eosinophils and ELR in COVID-19 patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The study included 96 patients hospitalized with COVID-19. They were classified into moderate to severe cases and critical cases. Eosinophils and ELR were determined in both groups, in patients that died or survived and were correlated to duration of hospitalization. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant decrease in eosinophils and ELR between patients that died and patients that survived (p<0.05), and in mean values of the two biomarkers (p<0.05 for eosinophils and p<0.05 for ELR) between patients hospitalized for more or less than 15 days among those with moderate to severe disease. CONCLUSION: Lower eosinophil counts and ERL could probably predict worse outcome in COVID-19 patients.