Version 1
: Received: 29 August 2024 / Approved: 29 August 2024 / Online: 29 August 2024 (14:25:32 CEST)
How to cite:
Torres, A. C. P.; Brito, R. N.; Araújo, W. N. D.; Pedrette, P.; Alves, D. C. C.; Teixeira, A. I. P.; Gontijo, C. C.; Romero, G. A. S.; Gurgel-Gonçalves, R.; Ramalho, W. M. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers before and after COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cohort Study in a Primary Care Unit of Brazil. Preprints2024, 2024082185. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.2185.v1
Torres, A. C. P.; Brito, R. N.; Araújo, W. N. D.; Pedrette, P.; Alves, D. C. C.; Teixeira, A. I. P.; Gontijo, C. C.; Romero, G. A. S.; Gurgel-Gonçalves, R.; Ramalho, W. M. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers before and after COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cohort Study in a Primary Care Unit of Brazil. Preprints 2024, 2024082185. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.2185.v1
Torres, A. C. P.; Brito, R. N.; Araújo, W. N. D.; Pedrette, P.; Alves, D. C. C.; Teixeira, A. I. P.; Gontijo, C. C.; Romero, G. A. S.; Gurgel-Gonçalves, R.; Ramalho, W. M. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers before and after COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cohort Study in a Primary Care Unit of Brazil. Preprints2024, 2024082185. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.2185.v1
APA Style
Torres, A. C. P., Brito, R. N., Araújo, W. N. D., Pedrette, P., Alves, D. C. C., Teixeira, A. I. P., Gontijo, C. C., Romero, G. A. S., Gurgel-Gonçalves, R., & Ramalho, W. M. (2024). Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers before and after COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cohort Study in a Primary Care Unit of Brazil. Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.2185.v1
Chicago/Turabian Style
Torres, A. C. P., Rodrigo Gurgel-Gonçalves and Walter Massa Ramalho. 2024 "Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Healthcare Workers before and after COVID-19 Vaccination: A Cohort Study in a Primary Care Unit of Brazil" Preprints. https://doi.org/10.20944/preprints202408.2185.v1
Abstract
Introduction: Healthcare workers (HCW) are at higher risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Viral surveillance for early detection of COVID-19 is a critical strategy to understand the infection dynamics in this population and to prevent transmission. The study examines SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection among HCW vaccinated against COVID-19 who are employed at a primary health care unit serving a disenfranchised community of Brazil.
Methods: The study was conducted in Cidade Estrutural, Federal District of Brazil, between February and October 2021. Participants were interviewed and provided samples. A prospective open cohort study was used to analyze the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 infection and reinfection. Nasopharyngeal and peripheral blood samples were collected from workers presenting with flu-like symptoms and subjected to RT-qPCR and serological testing (IgM and IgG chemiluminescence). The frequencies of infection and reinfection (RT-qPCR positive results 90 days after the infection) were calculated along with their respective confidence intervals (95%CI).
Results: Of the 128 workers, 61 (47.65%; CI: 39.19-56.25) reported probable SARS-CoV-2 infection before vaccination. Of these, 50 (39.06%; CI: 31.04-47.71) had SARS-CoV-2 infection after vaccination, confirmed by molecular tests. Reinfection was identified in seven workers (14.00%; CI: 6.95-26.18), based on the 90-day interval between results. The serological data from the 128 workers during the cohort indicated that 68 had IgG antibodies (53.12%; CI: 44.5-61.5) and 46 had IgM antibodies (35.93%; CI: 28.14-44.54) against SARS-CoV-2. SARS-CoV-2 infection was common in community health workers (CHW, 56%), registered nurses (50%), and licensed practice nurses (33%). Following the COVID-19 vaccination, the percentage of infections among CHW decreased from 47.83% to 4.35%.
Conclusion: These results demonstrate that (i) approximately 40% of the workers were infected with SARS-CoV-2 in 2021 and (ii) reinfections confirmed by RT-qPCR occurred in 14% of the HCW after vaccination. The results provide valuable insights into the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 among HCW in a primary care unit serving a minoritized community.
Keywords
Monitoring; seroprevalence; SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19
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.
,
*
