Side effects and antibody response of an inactive severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccine among health care workers.

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to investigate the antibody response and the side effects of the two-dose inactive SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac, Sinovac, China) among a health care worker population in Turkey. METHODS: This study was a prospective, cross-sectional, single-center study conducted between December 16, 2020, and March 15, 2021. We evaluated the side effects from a questionnaire, and anti-spike immunoglobulin G response to the vaccine (0- and 28-day schedule) using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. RESULTS: A total of 94 of 184 health care workers completed this study. The percentages of participants who were seronegative at baseline and achieved to the seropositivity were 21.3 and 97.9%, respectively, on day 21 after vaccinations. The seropositivity was predominantly detected in 31-45 years of the age group (55.4%, p=0.636), normal body mass index (47.8%, p=0.999), nonsmokers (64.1%, p=0.999), those without any comorbidities (73.9%, p=0.463), and those without any side effects (70.2%, p=0.256). The frequencies of overall side effects within seven days after the first and second doses of CoronaVac were 37.2 and 28.7%, respectively. The most common side effects was localized pain at the injection site (15.7 and 11.6%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: We found that vaccination by two-dose CoronaVac could elicit a specific humoral response, and it was well tolerated in health care workers. The high seropositivity developed after the second dose attracted attention. Our study will be useful in terms of showing short-term immunity and side effects.

[Antibody Screening and Risk Assessment of Healthcare Professionals in the COVID-19 Pandemic]. / COVID-19 Pandemisinde Saglik Çalisanlarinin Antikor Taramasi ve Risk Degerlendirmesi.

Globally 364102 healthcare professionals have been infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and 1253 of them died until 15 January 2021. Healthcare professionals serving at the forefront of combating the pandemic are in the high risk group. In our country, the data about coronavirus-2019 (COVID-19) among healthcare professionals are limited. The aim of this study was to investigate the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence in healthcare professionals, to evaluate the risks they encountered during work, and to examine their relationships with antibody positivity. A total of 572 healthcare professionals serving in various units of our hospital participated in our study and the presence of anti-nucleocapsid IgG was investigated by chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (SARS-CoV-2 IgG test, Abbott Laboratories Diagnostics, USA) method in serum samples collected between May 18, 2020 and June 30, 2020. The demographic characteristics, medical history, work conditions, medical procedures performed and possible risk factors were questioned with a questionnaire form. The average age of the participants was 33.5 ± 9.2 (19-61) years, and 62.9% (360/572) of them were women. In our study, the anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG seroprevalence was 3.7% (21/572). The association of the antibody positivity with age, gender and occupational status was not statistically significant (p> 0.05). Comorbid diseases which were significantly higher in seropositive healthcare professionals were hypertension (19%) and diabetes mellitus (14.3%) (p<0.05). It was observed that antibody positivity was significantly higher in healthcare professionals working in high (52.4%) and medium risk (33.3%) areas, those who treat and/or examine patients with suspicious or positive COVID-19 (66.7%) and those who spend more than 30 minutes in COVID-19 patient rooms (76%) (p<0.05). The symptoms associated with seropositivity in healthcare workers with a history of symptoms (46%) were loss of smell (23.5%), loss of taste (20.0%) and respiratory distress (16.7%) (p<0.05). It was observed that the probability of being infected with SARS-CoV-2 increased 12 times if there was a colleague with COVID-19 in the hospital, four times if there was a patient in the house/lodging and six times if there was an infected person in the social environment (p<0.05). The rate of those who had the flu vaccine among the participants was 10.8% (62/572) and 9.7% of them were found to be anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG positive (p<0.05, 95% CI= 1.31-9.48). The seropositivity was significantly higher in non-smokers (4.8 %) compared to smokers (0.0%) (p<0.05). In our study, it was determined that the rate of seropositivity was 12 times higher in healthcare professionals who stated that they received hydroxychloroquine prophylaxis due to risky contact compared to those who did not receive prophylaxis (p<0.05, 95% CI= 4.11-40.64). The ratio of the personnel who answered "always" to the frequency of wearing gloves, masks, goggles/face shields and overalls was 85.7%, 96.9%, 62.1% and 65.4%, respectively. In conclusion, regular and large-scale seroepidemiological screening of healthcare professionals in the COVID-19 pandemic can contribute to the control of the pandemic by providing a better understanding of transmission dynamics and risk factors.