COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational Study
Background: With the availability of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, concerns have been raised regarding pre-vaccination seroprevalence in healthcare workers (HCW). This study examines the seroprevalence of HCW at an Israeli tertiary medical center before first BNT162b2 vaccination....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Rambam Health Care Campus
2022-04-01
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| Series: | Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.rmmj.org.il/issues/53/1401/manuscript |
| _version_ | 1811289660926722048 |
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| author | Khetam Hussein Yael Shachor-Meyouhas Halima Dabaja-Younis Moran Szwarcwort-Cohen Jalal Tarabeia Avi Weissman Michal Mekel Gila Hyams Michael Halberthal |
| author_facet | Khetam Hussein Yael Shachor-Meyouhas Halima Dabaja-Younis Moran Szwarcwort-Cohen Jalal Tarabeia Avi Weissman Michal Mekel Gila Hyams Michael Halberthal |
| author_sort | Khetam Hussein |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: With the availability of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, concerns have been raised regarding pre-vaccination seroprevalence in healthcare workers (HCW). This study examines the seroprevalence of HCW at an Israeli tertiary medical center before first BNT162b2 vaccination.
Methods: This was a retrospective observational study. Before vaccination, HCW at our center were offered serological testing. Data on their epidemiological, workplace, and quarantine history were collected. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay was performed pre-vaccination.
Results: A total of 4,519 (82.5%) of the HCW were tested. Of these, 210 were seropositive; 101 had no known history of COVID-19. Of the 101 asymptomatic HCW, only 3 (3%) had worked at COVID-19 departments, and 70 (69.3%) had not been previously quarantined. Positive serology was similarly distributed across age groups, and about 40% had no children. Nearly half of the HCW tested were administrative and service staff. Overall, seropositive tests were associated with having no children (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.06–1.89; P=0.0218), history of having been quarantined without proof of disease (OR 6.04, 95% CI 4.55–8.01; P<0.001), and Arab ethnicity (OR 3.36, 95% CI 2.54–4.43; P<0.001). Seropositivity was also more prevalent in members of the administration compared to other sectors, medical and paramedical, who are exposed to patients in their daily work (OR 1.365, 95% CI 1.02–1.82; P=0.04).
Conclusions: The low percentage of asymptomatic COVID-19 among our HCW may reflect the high compliance to personal protective equipment use despite treating hundreds of COVID-19 patients. The relatively high number of childless seropositive HCW could reflect misconceptions regarding children as a main source of infection, leading to carelessness regarding the need for appropriate out-of-hospital protection. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:59:32Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-142311ef807848438d121b94cb2830d4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-9172 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T03:59:32Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | Rambam Health Care Campus |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal |
| spelling | doaj.art-142311ef807848438d121b94cb2830d42022-12-22T03:03:31ZengRambam Health Care CampusRambam Maimonides Medical Journal2076-91722022-04-01132e001110.5041/RMMJ.10469COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational StudyKhetam Hussein0Yael Shachor-Meyouhas1Halima Dabaja-Younis2Moran Szwarcwort-Cohen3Jalal Tarabeia4Avi Weissman5Michal Mekel6Gila Hyams7Michael Halberthal8The Infection Control Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel; The Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, IsraelThe Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel; Pediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, Israel; and Management, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelPediatric Infectious Diseases Unit, Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelVirology Laboratory, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelThe Infection Control Unit, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelManagement, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelThe Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel and Management, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelNursing Administration and Management, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelThe Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel and Management, Rambam Health Care Campus, Haifa, IsraelBackground: With the availability of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine, concerns have been raised regarding pre-vaccination seroprevalence in healthcare workers (HCW). This study examines the seroprevalence of HCW at an Israeli tertiary medical center before first BNT162b2 vaccination. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study. Before vaccination, HCW at our center were offered serological testing. Data on their epidemiological, workplace, and quarantine history were collected. The SARS-CoV-2 IgG assay was performed pre-vaccination. Results: A total of 4,519 (82.5%) of the HCW were tested. Of these, 210 were seropositive; 101 had no known history of COVID-19. Of the 101 asymptomatic HCW, only 3 (3%) had worked at COVID-19 departments, and 70 (69.3%) had not been previously quarantined. Positive serology was similarly distributed across age groups, and about 40% had no children. Nearly half of the HCW tested were administrative and service staff. Overall, seropositive tests were associated with having no children (OR 1.42, 95% CI 1.06–1.89; P=0.0218), history of having been quarantined without proof of disease (OR 6.04, 95% CI 4.55–8.01; P<0.001), and Arab ethnicity (OR 3.36, 95% CI 2.54–4.43; P<0.001). Seropositivity was also more prevalent in members of the administration compared to other sectors, medical and paramedical, who are exposed to patients in their daily work (OR 1.365, 95% CI 1.02–1.82; P=0.04). Conclusions: The low percentage of asymptomatic COVID-19 among our HCW may reflect the high compliance to personal protective equipment use despite treating hundreds of COVID-19 patients. The relatively high number of childless seropositive HCW could reflect misconceptions regarding children as a main source of infection, leading to carelessness regarding the need for appropriate out-of-hospital protection.https://www.rmmj.org.il/issues/53/1401/manuscriptcovid-19epidemiologyhealth care workersinfectious diseasespublic health |
| spellingShingle | Khetam Hussein Yael Shachor-Meyouhas Halima Dabaja-Younis Moran Szwarcwort-Cohen Jalal Tarabeia Avi Weissman Michal Mekel Gila Hyams Michael Halberthal COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational Study Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal covid-19 epidemiology health care workers infectious diseases public health |
| title | COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational Study |
| title_full | COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational Study |
| title_fullStr | COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational Study |
| title_short | COVID-19: Healthcare Workers May Be at Greater Risk Outside Their Work Environment—A Retrospective Observational Study |
| title_sort | covid 19 healthcare workers may be at greater risk outside their work environment a retrospective observational study |
| topic | covid-19 epidemiology health care workers infectious diseases public health |
| url | https://www.rmmj.org.il/issues/53/1401/manuscript |
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