Test positivity rate, contact history, and vaccination status of COVID-19 among patients visiting flu corner (fever clinic) of a tertiary care health center of Karnataka: A prospective longitudinal study

Abstract

Background: In December 2019, patients with viral pneumonia-like illnesses were found to be infected with the coronavirus. The spread of COVID-19 infection continues unabated even after vaccination has begun. A study done on health-care workers who were vaccinated reported mild symptomatic breakthrough infection. Studies on breakthrough infections, their severity, and outcome have not been widely done in India. Objectives: This study estimates the COVID-19 test positivity rate among patients reporting to the flu corner of a tertiary care center, their contact history, vaccination status, and the rate of breakthrough infection among the cases. Methodology: A prospective longitudinal study was done on people who presented to the flu corner of McGANN Teaching District Hospital, Shivamogga, in June 2021. Preliminary data were collected through direct interviews. Later positive cases of COVID-19 were followed up till a documented clinical outcome. Responses were made into a database and descriptive statistics were done. Results: The test positivity rate of COVID-19 is 25%. Around 16% of the people who tested positive were asymptomatic. One out of four of the participants was vaccinated with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Around 15% of the vaccinated people tested positive. Conclusion: Our study found that the test positivity rate at our tertiary hospital is higher than the district average. A single dose of COVID-19 vaccination does not seem to be protective against contracting COVID-19 infections. These findings need to be verified through studies in different settings.

Keywords

• breakthrough infection
• covaxintm
• covid-19
• covid vaccine
• covishield