Emerging Microbes and Infections (Dec 2023)

Effectiveness of inactivated COVID-19 vaccines against mild disease, pneumonia, and severe disease among persons infected with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant: real-world study in Jilin Province, China

  • Hongqin Xu,
  • Hongyan Li,
  • Hailong You,
  • Peng Zhang,
  • Nan Li,
  • Nan Jiang,
  • Yang Cao,
  • Ling Qin,
  • Guixiang Qin,
  • Hongbo Qu,
  • Heyuan Wang,
  • Bo Zou,
  • Xia He,
  • Dan Li,
  • Huazhong Zhao,
  • Gang Huang,
  • Yang Li,
  • Hefeng Zhang,
  • Liping Zhu,
  • Hongmei Qiao,
  • Hongjun Li,
  • Shurong Liu,
  • Lina Gu,
  • Guidong Yin,
  • Ye Hu,
  • Songbai Xu,
  • Weiying Guo,
  • Nanya Wang,
  • Chaoying Liu,
  • Pujun Gao,
  • Jie Cao,
  • Yang Zheng,
  • Kaiyu Zhang,
  • Yang Wang,
  • Hui Chen,
  • Jian Zhang,
  • Dongmei Mu,
  • Junqi Niu

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1080/22221751.2022.2149935
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 12, no. 1

Abstract

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ABSTRACTIt is critical to determine the real-world performance of vaccines against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) so that appropriate treatments and policies can be implemented. There was a rapid wave of infections by the Omicron variant in Jilin Province (China) during spring 2022. We examined the effectiveness of inactivated vaccines against Omicron using real-world data from this epidemic. This retrospective case-case study of vaccine effectiveness (VE) examined infected patients who were quarantined and treated from April 16 to June 8, 2022 and responded to an electronic questionnaire. Data were analyzed by univariable and multivariable analyses. A total of 2968 cases with SARS-CoV-2 infections (asymptomatic: 1061, mild disease: 1763, pneumonia: 126, severe disease: 18) were enrolled in the study. Multivariable regression indicated that the risk for pneumonia or severe disease was greater in those who were older or had underlying diseases, but was less in those who received COVID-19 vaccines. Relative to no vaccination, VE against the composite of pneumonia and severe disease was significant for those who received 2 doses (60.1%, 95%CI: 40.0%, 73.5%) or 3 doses (68.1%, 95%CI: 44.6%, 81.7%), and VE was similar in the subgroups of males and females. However, VE against the composite of all three classes of symptomatic diseases was not significant overall, nor after stratification by sex. There was no statistical difference in the VE of vaccines from different manufacturers. The inactivated COVID-19 vaccines protected patients against pneumonia and severe disease from Omicron infection, and booster vaccination enhanced this effect.

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