ABSTRACT
Background: Healthcare workers (HCW) of respiratory clinics are at major risk for SARS-CoV-2-infection. COVID-19 prevalence among HCWs in the pre-vaccination era is well documented but the effect of vaccination on COVID-19disease and development of symptoms is less well studied. One year after start of the vaccination campaign, we aimed to determine the work-related risk among HCWs of respiratory clinics in Germany. Method(s): A study-specific online questionnaire was created to investigate COVID-19 work-related risk and disease characteristics. HCWs of all occupational categories were surveyed from 1st to 23th Dec 2021. Result(s): 1136 HCWs of seven clinics, 75% females, age groups 18-25/26-35/36-45/46-55/>=56y 8.1/24.9/22.6/23.7/20.5%, took part. Overall SARS-CoV-2 prevalence was 9.5% (n=108), 55.9% occurring before introduction of vaccination. 82.3/6.5/11.2% were unvaccinated/single dose/double dose vaccinated at infection. Most infections were associated with hospital exposure in the unvaccinated, 45.5 vs. 18.2%, whereas infections after vaccination were predominantly attributed to private contacts, 21.1 vs. 42.1% (p=0.04). The majority of infected subjects (89%) were symptomatic at diagnosis. Regardless of vaccination status, 43.8 and 55.2% experienced dysgeusia/anosmia and fatigue, respectively, as severe. HCWs who were unvaccinated at the time of infection reported a higher symptom burden after recover. Conclusion(s): One year after start of the vaccination campaign, a decrease in workplace-related COVID-19 infections was observed, but a relevant number of the formerly infected still suffered from sequelae.
ABSTRACT
Background: Staff absences due to illness or quarantine as result of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic or vaccinationrelated adverse events are known. We examined their numbers in health care workers (HCW) from pulmonary hospitals in Germany. Method(s): A study-specific online questionnaire was created to assess individual experiences and the impact of the pandemic. From December 1 to 23, 2022 staff from all occupational groups at 7 pulmonary hospitals were surveyed. Result(s): A total of 1136 HCW participated, 75% being female, 92.6% having received at least one vaccine dose at the time of the survey, 65.2% three, and 108 reporting a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Of HCW with positive PCR test, 98% reported home quarantine, with a quarantine period of median (range) 14 (1-52) days, while of those without positive PCR test, 11.3% reported quarantine over 14 (1-25) days. In addition, 23.5% of HCW reported absences due to vaccination effects over 2 (1-21) days. Overall, 37% (n=420) of HCW reported pandemic-related absences (median 5 days), with 3523 cumulative days of absence from work, among them 2826 related to illness or quarantine, and 697 to vaccination effects. Independent risk factors for pandemic-related absences of more than 5 days included COVID-19 illness (p<0.001) and not having been vaccinated at the time of the interview (OR 2.6;95%CI: 1.2-5.6;p= 0.009). Sex, age, or working in direct patient care or risk areas were not relevant. Conclusion(s): In HCW from German pulmonary hospitals, the average total days of absenteeism from work related to SARS-CoV-2 were about 3 days per participant, and vaccination-associated absenteeism contributed about one fifth to this number.