COVID-19 booster vaccination uptake and infection breakthrough amongst health care workers in Wales: A national prospective cohort study

Stuart Bedston, Emily Lowthian, Christopher I Jarvis, Ashley Akbari, Jillian Beggs, Declan Bradley, Simon de Lusignan, Rowena Griffiths, Laura Herbert, Richard Hobbs, Steven Kerr, Jane Lyons, William Midgley, Rhiannon K Owen, Jennifer K Quint, Ruby Tsang, Fatemeh Torabi, Aziz Sheikh, Ronan A Lyons

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

BACKGROUND: From September 2021, Health Care Workers (HCWs) in Wales began receiving a COVID-19 booster vaccination. This is the first dose beyond the primary vaccination schedule. Given the emergence of new variants, vaccine waning vaccine, and increasing vaccination hesitancy, there is a need to understand booster vaccine uptake and subsequent breakthrough in this high-risk population.

METHODS: We conducted a prospective, national-scale, observational cohort study of HCWs in Wales using anonymised, linked data from the SAIL Databank. We analysed uptake of COVID-19 booster vaccinations from September 2021 to February 2022, with comparisons against uptake of the initial primary vaccination schedule. We also analysed booster breakthrough, in the form of PCR-confirmed SARS-Cov-2 infection, comparing to the second primary dose. Cox proportional hazard models were used to estimate associations for vaccination uptake and breakthrough regarding staff roles, socio-demographics, household composition, and other factors.

RESULTS: We derived a cohort of 73,030 HCWs living in Wales (78% female, 60% 18-49 years old). Uptake was quickest amongst HCWs aged 60 + years old (aHR 2.54, 95%CI 2.45-2.63), compared with those aged 18-29. Asian HCWs had quicker uptake (aHR 1.18, 95%CI 1.14-1.22), whilst Black HCWs had slower uptake (aHR 0.67, 95%CI 0.61-0.74), compared to white HCWs. HCWs residing in the least deprived areas were slightly quicker to have received a booster dose (aHR 1.12, 95%CI 1.09-1.16), compared with those in the most deprived areas. Strongest associations with breakthrough infections were found for those living with children (aHR 1.52, 95%CI 1.41-1.63), compared to two-adult only households. HCWs aged 60 + years old were less likely to get breakthrough infections, compared to those aged 18-29 (aHR 0.42, 95%CI 0.38-0.47).

CONCLUSION: Vaccination uptake was consistently lower among black HCWs, as well as those from deprived areas. Whilst breakthrough infections were highest in households with children.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1378-1389
JournalVaccine
Volume41
Issue number7
Early online date13 Jan 2023
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 10 Feb 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • Booster
  • Breakthrough
  • COVID-19
  • Health care workers
  • Uptake
  • Vaccination

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