BMJ Open (Feb 2023)
Presence of symptoms 6 weeks after COVID-19 among vaccinated and unvaccinated US healthcare personnel: a prospective cohort study
- ,
- Kye E Poronsky,
- Katherine E Fleming-Dutra,
- Nicholas M Mohr,
- Peter C Hou,
- Elizabeth Krebs,
- Sharon H Saydah,
- Wei Xing,
- Anusha Krishnadasan,
- Eva González,
- David A Talan,
- Gregory J Moran,
- Karin F Hoth,
- Shannon Landers,
- Ian D Plumb,
- Kari K Harland,
- Tamara Pilishvili,
- Zachary Mankoff,
- John P Haran,
- Melissa Briggs-Hagen,
- Eliezer Santos León,
- Howard A Smithline,
- Lilly C Lee,
- Stephen C Lim,
- Mark T Steele,
- David G Beiser,
- Brett Faine,
- Utsav Nandi,
- Walter A Schrading,
- Brian Chinnock,
- Anne Chipman,
- Megan Fuentes,
- Frank LoVecchio,
- Bradley Clinansmith,
- Alysia Horcher,
- Kelli Wallace,
- Lisandra Uribe,
- Kavitha Pathmarajah,
- Dean M Hashimoto,
- Monica Bahamon,
- Michelle St Romain,
- Efrat Kean,
- Amy Stubbs,
- Sara Roy,
- Gregory Volturo,
- Amanda Higgins,
- James Galbraith,
- James C Crosby,
- Mary Mulrow,
- Ryan Gierke,
- Jennifer L Farrar,
- Yunmi Chung,
- Anna Yousaf,
- Jennifer Onukwube Okaro,
- Glen R Abedi,
- Sankan Nyanseor,
- Christopher K Watts
Affiliations
- Kye E Poronsky
- Katherine E Fleming-Dutra
- COVID-19 Response Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Nicholas M Mohr
- Emergency Medicine, The University of Iowa Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, Iowa, USA
- Peter C Hou
- Elizabeth Krebs
- Sharon H Saydah
- COVID-19 Response Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Wei Xing
- Anusha Krishnadasan
- Olive View and Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center Emergency Medicine, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Eva González
- David A Talan
- Olive View and Ronald Reagan-UCLA Medical Center Emergency Medicine, University of California - Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Gregory J Moran
- Karin F Hoth
- Internal Medicine, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, Iowa CIty, Iowa, USA
- Shannon Landers
- Ian D Plumb
- COVID-19 Response Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Kari K Harland
- Emergency Medicine, The University of Iowa Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, Iowa, USA
- Tamara Pilishvili
- COVID-19 Response Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Zachary Mankoff
- Emergency Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
- John P Haran
- Emergency Medicine, University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
- Melissa Briggs-Hagen
- COVID-19 Response Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Eliezer Santos León
- Emergency Medicine, The University of Iowa Roy J and Lucille A Carver College of Medicine, Iowa, Iowa, USA
- Howard A Smithline
- Lilly C Lee
- Stephen C Lim
- Mark T Steele
- David G Beiser
- Brett Faine
- Utsav Nandi
- Walter A Schrading
- Brian Chinnock
- Anne Chipman
- Megan Fuentes
- Frank LoVecchio
- Bradley Clinansmith
- Alysia Horcher
- Kelli Wallace
- Lisandra Uribe
- Kavitha Pathmarajah
- Dean M Hashimoto
- Monica Bahamon
- Michelle St Romain
- Efrat Kean
- Amy Stubbs
- Sara Roy
- Gregory Volturo
- Amanda Higgins
- James Galbraith
- James C Crosby
- Mary Mulrow
- Ryan Gierke
- Jennifer L Farrar
- Yunmi Chung
- Anna Yousaf
- Jennifer Onukwube Okaro
- Glen R Abedi
- Sankan Nyanseor
- Christopher K Watts
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-063141
- Journal volume & issue
-
Vol. 13,
no. 2
Abstract
Objectives Although COVID-19 vaccines offer protection against infection and severe disease, there is limited information on the effect of vaccination on prolonged symptoms following COVID-19. Our objective was to determine differences in prevalence of prolonged symptoms 6 weeks after onset of COVID-19 among healthcare personnel (HCP) by vaccination status, and to assess differences in timing of return to work.Design Cohort analysis of HCP with COVID-19 enrolled in a multicentre vaccine effectiveness study. HCP with COVID-19 between December 2020 and August 2021 were followed up 6 weeks after illness onset.Setting Health systems in 12 US states.Participants HCP participating in a vaccine effectiveness study were eligible for inclusion if they had laboratory-confirmed symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 with mRNA vaccination (symptom onset ≥14 days after two doses) or no prior vaccination. Among 681 eligible participants, 419 (61%) completed a follow-up survey to assess symptoms reported 6 weeks after illness onset.Exposures Two doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine compared with no COVID-19 vaccine.Main outcome measures Prevalence of symptoms 6 weeks after onset of COVID-19 illness and days to return to work.Results Among 419 HCP with COVID-19, 298 (71%) reported one or more COVID-like symptoms 6 weeks after illness onset, with a lower prevalence among vaccinated participants compared with unvaccinated participants (60.6% vs 79.1%; adjusted risk ratio 0.70, 95% CI 0.58 to 0.84). Following their illness, vaccinated HCP returned to work a median 2.0 days (95% CI 1.0 to 3.0) sooner than unvaccinated HCP (adjusted HR 1.37, 95% CI 1.04 to 1.79).Conclusions Receipt of two doses of a COVID-19 mRNA vaccine among HCP with COVID-19 illness was associated with decreased prevalence of COVID-like symptoms at 6 weeks and earlier return to work.
