Study epidemiology and determinants of COVID-19 infection among the population in Jeddah city, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a global pandemic caused by a highly infectious respiratory virus (SARS-CoV-2). With all these consequences that threaten the health of the individual and society due to this infection, it has become necessary to have a vaccination that limits the spread of this virus. The objective of this study was to study the epidemiological aspects of COVID-19 pandemic in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Method: It was a cross sectional study of 405 subjects, who gave their responses through online Google form, as face to face interview of the subjects during outpatient clinic visits was not possible because of the pandemic of COVID-19 infection. Data was analyzed using SPSS software version 23. The level of significance was 0.05%. Results: The prevalence of Covid-19 infection was 23.7%. The vaccination coverage by the Covid-19 vaccine was 90.4%. Those who got the infection before getting the vaccine were 76%;on the other hand those who got the infection after getting one dose were 17.7% of the cases, while 6.3% got the infection after getting two doses of the vaccine. Those with autoimmune disorders, kidney failure and obesity were reluctant to get the vaccine (p <0.05). Married subjects, those with average income, and those who are employed were significantly more infected by COVID-19 (p<0.05). Patients with asthma, with autoimmune disorders, and those who did not take the COVID-19 vaccine, were significantly more vulnerable to COVID - 19 infection (p<0.05). Post vaccination clinical manifestations were mainly feeling tired (90.2%), pain and swelling at the site of injection (76.9%), fever (65.9%) and headache (61.8%%). Clinical manifestations associated with COVID-19 infection included fever (76.0%), headache (72.9%), loss of taste and smell (68.8%), body aches (67.7%), and sore throat (57.3%). Conclusions: Prevalence of COVID-19 infection was 23.7%. About one third of the population did not accept the vaccine. Subjects with asthma, autoimmune disorders, and those who were unvaccinated were more likely to catch the infection. Increasing the knowledge of the people about the clinical aspects, and health impact of the COVID-19 virus on the community are important intervention tools to increase the acceptance rate of COVID-19 vaccination among the population.