Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Single-Facility Analysis of COVID-19 Status of Healthcare Employee During the Eighth and Ninth Pandemic Waves in Japan After Introducing Regular Rapid Antigen Testing

Masayuki Nagasawa
* ORCID logo ,
Tomoyuki Kato
,
Hayato Sakaguchi
,
Ippei Tanaka
,
Asami Watanabe
,
Yoko Hiroshima
,
Mie Sakurai
Version 1 : Received: 10 May 2024 / Approved: 13 May 2024 / Online: 13 May 2024 (07:47:10 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Nagasawa, M.; Kato, T.; Sakaguchi, H.; Tanaka, I.; Watanabe, M.; Hiroshima, Y.; Sakurai, M. Single-Facility Analysis of COVID-19 Status of Healthcare Employees during the Eighth and Ninth Pandemic Waves in Japan after Introducing Regular Rapid Antigen Testing. Vaccines 2024, 12, 645. Nagasawa, M.; Kato, T.; Sakaguchi, H.; Tanaka, I.; Watanabe, M.; Hiroshima, Y.; Sakurai, M. Single-Facility Analysis of COVID-19 Status of Healthcare Employees during the Eighth and Ninth Pandemic Waves in Japan after Introducing Regular Rapid Antigen Testing. Vaccines 2024, 12, 645.

Abstract

Background Community infections of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) have increased rapidly since the emergence of the Omicron strain. During the eighth and ninth pandemic waves—when movement restrictions in the community were eased—the all-case registration system was changed, and the actual status of infection became uncertain. Methods We conducted regular rapid antigen tests (R-RAT) once or twice a week to examine the actual state of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) diagnosis among healthcare employees. Results Overall, 320 (1.42/day) and 299 (1.76/day) employees were infected in the eighth and ninth pandemic waves. During both periods, 59/263 doctors (22.4%), 335/806 nurses (41.6%), 92/194 administrative employees (47.4%), and 129/218 clinical laboratory technicians (59.2%) were infected. In the eighth wave, 56 of 195 employees were infected through close contact; in the ninth wave, 26 of 62 employees were infected. No significant difference was observed in the number of vaccinations between infected and non-infected employees. The positivity rate of R-RAT was 0.41% and 0.45% in the eighth and ninth waves. R-RAT detected infection in 212 and 229 employees during the eighth and ninth waves, respectively; the ratio of R-RAT-detected positive employees to those who reported infection was significantly higher during the ninth wave (odds ratio: 1.67, 95% confidence interval: 1.17–2.37, p

Keywords

COVID-19; Omicron strain; rapid antigen test; healthcare employee; notification system

Subject

Public Health and Healthcare, Public Health and Health Services

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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