The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellers
Governments worldwide are looking for ways to safely enable international travel while mitigating the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, few data describe the impact of vaccination on importation of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Health Agency of Canada
2021-11-01
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| Series: | Canada Communicable Disease Report |
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| Online Access: | https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/canada-communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2021-47/issue-11-november-2021/impact-vaccination-status-importation-covid-19-international-travellers.html |
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| author | Paul Ronksley Tayler Scory Robert Weaver Meaghan Lunney Rachel Rodin Marcello Tonelli |
| author_facet | Paul Ronksley Tayler Scory Robert Weaver Meaghan Lunney Rachel Rodin Marcello Tonelli |
| author_sort | Paul Ronksley |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Governments worldwide are looking for ways to safely enable international travel while mitigating the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, few data describe the impact of vaccination on importation of COVID-19. We took advantage of the sequential introduction of two government policies in Canada to evaluate the real-world evidence of vaccine effectiveness among 30,361 international travellers arriving by air in Alberta, Canada. The proportion of COVID-19-positive results for travellers who were either fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated was 0.02% (95% CI: 0.00–0.10) (i.e. one positive case among 5,817 travellers). In contrast, 1.42% (95% CI: 1.27–1.58) of unvaccinated travellers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (341 cases among 24,034 travellers). These findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccinations approved in Canada, substantially reduced the risk of travel-related importation of COVID-19 when combined with other public health measures. The low absolute rate of infection among fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated international travellers may inform quarantine requirements in this population. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:55:30Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2f65785689a449e3b157e9d6f77dd097 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1481-8531 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T17:55:30Z |
| publishDate | 2021-11-01 |
| publisher | Public Health Agency of Canada |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Canada Communicable Disease Report |
| spelling | doaj.art-2f65785689a449e3b157e9d6f77dd0972022-12-21T20:11:49ZengPublic Health Agency of CanadaCanada Communicable Disease Report1481-85312021-11-01471147347510.14745/ccdr.v47i11a05The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellersPaul Ronksley0Tayler Scory1Robert Weaver2Meaghan Lunney3Rachel Rodin4Marcello Tonelli5Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, ABDepartment of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, ABDepartment of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, ABDepartment of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, ABVice-President’s Office, Public Health Agency of Canada, Ottawa, ONDepartment of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, ABGovernments worldwide are looking for ways to safely enable international travel while mitigating the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), and the associated coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, few data describe the impact of vaccination on importation of COVID-19. We took advantage of the sequential introduction of two government policies in Canada to evaluate the real-world evidence of vaccine effectiveness among 30,361 international travellers arriving by air in Alberta, Canada. The proportion of COVID-19-positive results for travellers who were either fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated was 0.02% (95% CI: 0.00–0.10) (i.e. one positive case among 5,817 travellers). In contrast, 1.42% (95% CI: 1.27–1.58) of unvaccinated travellers tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 (341 cases among 24,034 travellers). These findings suggest that COVID-19 vaccinations approved in Canada, substantially reduced the risk of travel-related importation of COVID-19 when combined with other public health measures. The low absolute rate of infection among fully vaccinated or partially vaccinated international travellers may inform quarantine requirements in this population.https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/canada-communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2021-47/issue-11-november-2021/impact-vaccination-status-importation-covid-19-international-travellers.htmlcovid-19vaccinationinternational travelcase importation |
| spellingShingle | Paul Ronksley Tayler Scory Robert Weaver Meaghan Lunney Rachel Rodin Marcello Tonelli The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellers Canada Communicable Disease Report covid-19 vaccination international travel case importation |
| title | The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellers |
| title_full | The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellers |
| title_fullStr | The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellers |
| title_full_unstemmed | The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellers |
| title_short | The impact of vaccination status on importation of COVID-19 among international travellers |
| title_sort | impact of vaccination status on importation of covid 19 among international travellers |
| topic | covid-19 vaccination international travel case importation |
| url | https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/canada-communicable-disease-report-ccdr/monthly-issue/2021-47/issue-11-november-2021/impact-vaccination-status-importation-covid-19-international-travellers.html |
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