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INTRODUCTION: COVID-19 has infected over 300 million people and killed almost five million people worldwide. The rapid development and deployment of vaccines almost a year after the initial outbreak was poised to contain the pandemic and enable the mobilization of the people and the economy. Vaccine deployment and containment of the pandemic have been far from uniform across the world. There is a lack of a clear understanding of the correlation between the COVID-19 vaccination rates and the incidence of the COVID-19 disease and COVID-19 mortality. AIM: The study aims to determine the correlation between the COVID-19 vaccination rate and the bi-weekly incidence rate of the COVID-19 disease to better understand the correlation between the vaccination rate and the COVID-19-related fatality in various countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from vaccination and the case fatality rate were abstracted until September 15, 2021, and from October 15 to October 31, respectively, for the various countries categorized based on their income levels. The bi-weekly COVID-19 incidence rate per million population and the case fatality rate was analyzed using SPSS version 27 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY), followed by frequencies and percentages. Spearman rank correlation was used to determine the relationship between the variables. RESULTS: A total of 191 countries were included in the study. The vaccination rate ranged from 0.03% to 82.1%, CFR from 0.14% to 32.1%, and the bi-weekly incidence rate ranged from zero to 1,283 per million population. A positive correlation was observed between vaccination rate and bi-weekly incidence rate (+0.57), whereas a negative correlation was observed between vaccination rate and CFR (-0.34). The results indicate a moderate positive correlation between vaccination rate and bi-weekly incidence rate and a weak negative correlation between vaccination rate and case fatality rate. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Our study is interesting for the observation that the bi-weekly incidence rate of COVID-19 positively correlated with the rate of vaccination. In contrast, the vaccination rate correlated negatively with the case fatality rate. Although several factors may have contributed to the increased incidence rates for COVID-19, these observations refute the myth that COVID-19 vaccination offers complete protection from reinfection, especially in the backdrop of easing pandemic containment measures by some countries. An increase in the vaccination rate is certainly a positive contributor to the decreasing case fatality observed.
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OBJECTIVES: To describe clinician-educators (CEs) in new graduate medical education (GME) systems and characterize perception of preparedness, roles and rewards, and factors affecting job satisfaction and retention. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey of all CEs of institutions using competency-based GME and accredited by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-International (ACGME-I). RESULTS: 274 of 359 eligible participants (76.3%) responded, representing 47 residency programs across 17 specialties. CEs were predominantly married men aged in their 40s, employed at their current institution 9.3 years (±6.4 years). CEs judged themselves competent or expert in teaching skills (91.5%), trainee assessment (82%) and mentoring (75%); less so in curriculum development (44%) and educational research skills (32%). Clinical productivity was perceived by the majority (62%) as the item most valued by their institutions, with little or no perceived value for teaching or educational efforts. Overall, 58.3% were satisfied or very satisfied with their roles, and 77% expected to remain in academic medicine for 5 years. A strong negative correlation was found between being a program or associate program director and likelihood of staying in academic medicine (aOR 0.42; 0.22 to 0.80). CONCLUSIONS: In the GME systems studied, CEs, regardless of country or programme, report working in environments that value clinical productivity over educational efforts. CEs feel competent and prepared for many aspects of their roles, have positive attitudes towards teaching, and report overall job satisfaction, with most likely to remain in academic medicine. As medical training advances internationally, the impact on and by CEs requires ongoing attention.