Efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Background: Although COVID-19 vaccinations prevent infection, certain cases have been documented even after vaccination. This has raised questions regarding their safety and effectiveness. Aim: Evaluating the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia and assessing the se...

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Main Authors: Zainah M. Al Shahrani, Yahya I. Alnshbah, Safaa A. Fallatah, Tabish Humayun, Ghazail M. Albeshi, Nawal M. Alanazi, Fayze Z. Aldalbehi, Eman A. Barnawi, Nawaf M. Almatrafi, Dalal H. Almutairi, Alhanouf A. Aldarami, Rayed A. Alasiri, Nasser H. Alshanbari, Khalid H. Alanazi, Hala M. Roushdy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Journal of Clinical Virology Plus
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2667038025000213
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Summary:Background: Although COVID-19 vaccinations prevent infection, certain cases have been documented even after vaccination. This has raised questions regarding their safety and effectiveness. Aim: Evaluating the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines among healthcare workers in Saudi Arabia and assessing the severity of post-vaccination infection. Subject and Methods: A cross-sectional design enrolling 124,742 healthcare workers (HCWs) with PCR-confirmed COVID-19 infection from March 2020 to March 2022. They were divided into two groups based on their vaccination status: a pre-vaccination group and a post-vaccination group. The data collected were obtained from the following hospitals (MOH, governmental non-MOH, and Private hospitals). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS version 25. Results: The overall mean COVID-19 positivity rates among the HCWs were higher following vaccination and were found to be 52.88 % (n = 65,968) compared to 47.12 % (n = 58,774) in the pre-vaccination group. The mortality and ICU admission rates significantly decreased in the post-vaccination group (36.5 % and 40.9 %) than pre-vaccination (63.5 % and 59.1 %). The cure rate increased significantly from 47.0 % in pre-vaccination to 53.0 % in the post-vaccination group. Gender, nationality, job title, hospital category, and vaccine type were all associated with a significantly higher risk of infection following vaccination (p > 0.05). Conclusion: Vaccinated healthcare personnel remain susceptible to infection and should be instructed to take all necessary infection control precautions to avoid future COVID-19 pandemics. Rigorous oversight of the private sector is essential for conducting focused audits and evaluations of infection control policies in private healthcare environments.
ISSN:2667-0380