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Multicenter Study
. 2022 Dec 12;40(52):7660-7666.
doi: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2022.10.049. Epub 2022 Oct 26.

Association between COVID-19 vaccination status, time elapsed since the last vaccine dose, morbidity, and absenteeism among healthcare personnel: A prospective, multicenter study

Helena C Maltezou  1 , Maria N Gamaletsou  2 , Dimitra-Maria Koukou  3 , Theodoros V Giannouchos  4 , Flora Sourri  5 , Natalia Syrimi  6 , Amalia Karapanou  7 , Nikolaos Lemonakis  8 , Emmanuela Peskelidou  9 , Konstantina Papanastasiou  10 , Periklis Panagopoulos  11 , Kyriakos Souliotis  12 , Athanasia Lourida  13 , Dimitrios Hatzigeorgiou  14 , Nikolaos V Sipsas  2
Affiliations
Multicenter Study

Association between COVID-19 vaccination status, time elapsed since the last vaccine dose, morbidity, and absenteeism among healthcare personnel: A prospective, multicenter study

Helena C Maltezou et al. Vaccine. .

Abstract

Aim: We assessed the impact of COVID-19 vaccination status and time elapsed since the last vaccine dose on morbidity and absenteeism among healthcare personnel (HCP) in the context of a mandatory vaccination policy.

Methods: We followed 7592 HCP from November 15, 2021 through April 17, 2022. Full COVID-19 vaccination was defined as a primary vaccination series plus a booster dose at least six months later.

Results: There were 6496 (85.6 %) fully vaccinated, 953 (12.5 %) not fully vaccinated, and 143 (1.9 %) unvaccinated HCP. A total of 2182 absenteeism episodes occurred. Of 2088 absenteeism episodes among vaccinated HCP with known vaccination status, 1971 (94.4 %) concerned fully vaccinated and 117 (5.6 %) not fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated HCP had 1.6 fewer days of absence compared to those not fully vaccinated (8.1 versus 9.7; p-value < 0.001). Multivariable regression analyses showed that full vaccination was associated with shorter absenteeism compared to not full vaccination (OR: 0.56; 95 % CI: 0.36-0.87; p-value = 0.01). Compared to a history of ≤ 17.1 weeks since the last dose, a history of > 17.1 weeks since the last dose was associated with longer absenteeism (OR: 1.22, 95 % CI:1.02-1.46; p-value = 0.026) and increased risk for febrile episode (OR: 1.33; 95 % CI: 1.09-1.63; p-value = 0.004), influenza-like illness (OR: 1.53, 95 % CI: 1.02-2.30; p-value = 0.038), and COVID-19 (OR: 1.72; 95 % CI: 1.24-2.39; p-value = 0.001).

Conclusions: The COVID-19 pandemic continues to impose a considerable impact on HCP. The administration of a vaccine dose in less than four months before significantly protected against COVID-19 and absenteeism duration, irrespective of COVID-19 vaccination status. Defining the optimal timing of boosters is imperative.

Keywords: Absenteeism; Booster; COVID-19 vaccination; Healthcare personnel; Morbidity.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Cumulative episodes of absenteeism among 2088 vaccinated HCP* by time elapsed since last COVID-19 vaccination dose. *with known COVID-19 vaccination status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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