ABSTRACT
[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fimmu.2022.1071204.].
ABSTRACT
Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCWs) from the beginning of the pandemic have been at risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, so they were vaccinated as first. Objectives: The purpose of the study was to determine the level of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in HCWs before and after vaccination with mRNA preparations according to previous COVID- 19. Patients and methods: The HCWs from the University Hospital in Krakow completed two surveys: the baseline survey before receiving the first dose of vaccine (in January 2021) and the follow-up survey in June 2021. In parallel, two blood samples were collected from each participant at baseline and at follow-up. Total anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody levels were measured using the ECLIA technique. Results: At baseline, 41.1% of HCWs had positive antibody test results, and at follow-up, the vaccinated HCWs had almost 100 times higher antibody levels than the unvaccinated HCWs. Participants under 30 years of age had significantly higher antibody levels in June than older HCWs. Among participants with positive antibody test results in January, HCWs who had experienced asymptomatic COVID-19 had more than five times higher antibody levels in June than HCWs self-reported severe COVID-19. In total, 86.9% of HCWs received Comirnaty or Spikevax. The incidence rate of COVID-19 in the unvaccinated vs. vaccinated group was 13 times higher, 20.5% and 1.9% respectively. Conclusions: These results confirm the effectiveness of vaccination in the prevention of COVID-19 in HCWs. It is worth getting vaccinated regardless of previous infection. Furthermore, vaccination among HCWs under 30 years of age induced more effective antibody production compared to older individuals.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Humans , COVID-19/prevention & control , Follow-Up Studies , Poland/epidemiology , SARS-CoV-2 , Antibody Formation , Antibodies, Viral , Vaccination , Hospitals, University , Health Personnel , RNA, MessengerABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Recently heart failure (HF) has been found to be a new dementia risk factor; nevertheless, their relations in patients following HF decompensation remain unknown. We sought to investigate whether a screening diagnosis for dementia (SDD) in this high-risk population may predict unfavorable long-term clinical outcomes. METHODS: One hundred forty-two patients following HF decompensation requiring hospitalization were enrolled. Within a median time of 55 months all patients were screened for dementia with ALFI-MMSE scale whereas their compliance was assessed with the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Any incidents of myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA), revascularization, HF hospitalization and bleedings during follow-up were collected. RESULTS: SDD was established in 37 patients (26%) based on the result of an ALFI-MMSE score of <17 points. By multivariate analysis the lower results of the ALFI-MMSE score were associated with a history of stroke/TIA (ß=-0.29, P<0.001), peripheral arterial disease (PAD) (ß=-0.20, P=0.011) and lower glomerular filtration rate (ß=0.24, P=0.009). During the follow-up, patients with SDD were more often rehospitalized following HF decompensation (48.7% vs. 28.6%, P=0.042) than patients without SDD, despite a similar level of compliance (P=0.25). Irrespective of stroke/TIA history, SDD independently increased the risk of rehospitalization due to HF decompensation (HR 2.22, 95% CI: 1.23-4.01, P=0.007). CONCLUSIONS: In patients following decompensated HF, a history of stroke/TIA, PAD and impaired renal function independently influenced SDD. In this high-risk population, SDD was not related with patients' compliance but irrespective of the stroke/TIA history it was associated with the increased risk of HF rehospitalization.
