Assessing COVID-19 Risks among Egyptian Healthcare Workers: Incidence, Reinfection, and Vaccination Insights: A Retrospective Study | ||||
| Egyptian Journal of Medical Microbiology | ||||
| Volume 34, Issue 2, April 2025, Page 345-359 PDF (473.55 K) | ||||
| Document Type: New and original researches in the field of Microbiology. | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/ejmm.2025.359598.1471 | ||||
 View on SCiNiTO | ||||
| Authors | ||||
Heba S. Abdel Aziz 1; Reham M.R. Hamed  2; Sara E. Abd El-Ghani, 3; Hadeel A.M. Hassanen 4; Reham A. Abdelmageed 5; Soliman B. Soliman 6; Ghada H. El-Sherif 7; Radwa M. ElSayed 8; Mostafa A. Abdelmoneim9; Shehab M.K. Ali9; Sohaila M.M. Abdelbar9; Abdelhameed M.A. Elshenawy, 10; Marwa O. Elgendy 11; Amira M. Abbas 1
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| 1Clinical and Chemical Pathology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 2Medical Microbiology and Immunology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 3Internal Medicine Department, Clinical Hematology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 4Chest Diseases Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 5Endemic Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 6Critical Care Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 7Occupational and Environmental Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 8Family Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 9Undergraduate student in Kasr Alainy Medical School, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 10Care and Emergency Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt | ||||
| 11Clinical Pharmacy Department, Beni-Suef University Hospitals, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University; Clinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Nahda University, Beni-Suef, Egypt | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| Background: The onset of COVID-19 has posed significant hurdles for both public health and the global economy. The most effective strategy for managing the outbreak lies in the widespread embrace of vaccination. Numerous COVID-19 vaccines have been created and approved for deployment across different parts of the world. Objective: Identifying instances of COVID-19 infection and reinfection, analyzing the factors contributing to these occurrences, and assessing the vaccination status and potential side effects among healthcare workers. Methodology: This cross-sectional study involved healthcare workers from a university Hospitals. The questionnaire comprised four sections: participant demographics, initial COVID-19 infection, COVID-19 reinfection, and vaccination status. Results: Healthcare workers faced elevated risks of both initial infection (46.4%) and reinfection (29.2%) due to potential transmission within the healthcare setting, as well as from patients and the wider community. Reinfection cases typically exhibited more severe symptoms compared to initial infections, leading to increased rates of hospitalization and intensive care unit admissions (p value <0.001). AstraZeneca (24.6%), Pfizer (23.8%), Sinopharm (20.9%), and Sinovac (20.2%) emerged as the most administered vaccines. Non-vaccinated participants faced heightened susceptibility to COVID-19 infection, experienced more severe symptoms, and were more likely to require hospitalization. Following vaccination, side effects were more commonly reported with Johnson & Johnson (47.6%%) and Sputnik vaccines (46.7%%), typically manifesting within the first day and lasting one to three days. Conclusions: Understanding the risk factors for COVID-19 infection and reinfection is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies, especially among healthcare workers who face heightened exposure. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| COVID-19; Health Care Workers; Vaccination; Health personnel | ||||
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