Post-vaccination cases of COVID-19 among healthcare workers at Siloam Teaching Hospital, Indonesia

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at increased risk of exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), compared with the general population. Therefore, they are given priority for the COVID-19 vaccine in the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign in Indonesia. However, while the daily number of new COVID-19 cases remains high, and data regarding the efficacy of the vaccine in healthcare settings remain unavailable, vaccinated HCWs remain at risk of COVID-19 infection and further transmission.

Objective: To identify cases of COVID-19 among vaccinated HCWs at Siloam Teaching Hospital, Indonesia via active and passive surveillance conducted by the hospital's COVID-19 infection prevention and control unit.

Results: Of 1040 HCWs who had received two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, 13 (1.25%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction between 2 and 11 days (median 5 days) after the second vaccination.

Conclusion: Laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 among vaccinated HCWs soon after the second vaccination indicates that HCWs remain at risk of COVID-19. Therefore, the presence of symptoms soon after full vaccination cannot be considered as vaccine-related symptoms, and regular COVID-19 testing should be conducted among HCWs.

Keywords: COVID-19; Healthcare workers; Vaccination.