Retrospective Descriptive Analysis of COVID-19 Infection Among Vaccinated Healthcare Workers at Fortis Tertiary Care Hospitals

During COVID-19 pandemic, Healthcare Workers (HCWs) were at increased risk for exposure to SARS-CoV-2 virus and prioritized for early administration of COVID-19 vaccines in India. Real-life scenario information among vaccinated HCWs acquiring COVID-19 infection, is scarce. We retrospectively analyzed COVID-19 infection frequency, severity, and associated mortality among healthcare workers, immunized with either Covishield or Covaxin vaccines at 27 Fortis Hospitals across 11 Indian states. Positive cases were identified based on RT-PCR or rapid antigen tests for SARS-CoV-2 between 16 th January 2021 till 15 th May 2021. 20034 HCWs received vaccination. 3971 received 1 dose, 16063 received 2 doses. Post-vaccination, 1139 HCWs acquired COVID-19 infection, 180 (4.53%) and 959 (5.97%) among partially and fully vaccinated category, respectively. Breakthrough infection occurred among 913 (5.68%) HCWs. Concurrently, Case Positivity Rate was 11.9%, among general population. Among 1139 positive cases, mild, moderate, and severe infections were 1059 (93%), 71 (6.2%) and 9 (0.8%), respectively with Case Fatality Rate of 0.18%, compared to 0.92% among general population (p=0.0043). The Case Fatality Rate in vaccinated HCWs was found to be 80% less than that in general population. Hence, COVID-19 vaccines available in India seem to be effective against SARS-CoV-2 virus.Clinical Trial Registration Details: The study was registered with Clinical Trials Registry-India (CTRI). (CTRI registration number CTRI/2021/10/037376; “Fortis Registry Study for Vaccinated Healthcare Workers infected with SARS-CoV-2/ COVID-19”). Funding Information: Source of support is Fortis Healthcare Limited. Declaration of Interests: None. Ethics Approval Statement: The study has been approved by Ethics Committee (Institute Review Board) with waiver for Informed Consent. 1. Ethics Committee for Research, Fortis Flt Ltd, Vasant Kunj New Delhi. 2. Ethics Committee, Fortis Hospitals Ltd Faridabad. 3. Fortis Hospital Ethics Committee, Anandapur, Kolkata. 4. Fortis Hospital Institutional Ethics Committee, BG Rd, Bengaluru. 5. Fortis Hospital Institutional Ethics Committee, CG Rd, Bengaluru. 6. Fortis Hospital Institutional Ethics Committee, Noida, UP. 7. Institutional Ethics Committee, Fortis Hospital, Mohali, Punjab. 8. Institutional Ethics Committee, Fortis Hospital, Shalimar Bagh, Delhi. 9. Institutional Ethics Committee, Fortis Hospitals Limited, Mulund, Mumbai. 10. Institutional Ethics Committee, Fortis Malar Hospital, Chennai. 11. Institutional Ethics Committee, Fortis Memorial Research Institute Gurgaon. 12. Institutional Ethics Committee, S L Raheja Fortis Associate Hospital, Mahim, Mumbai. 13. Institutional Ethics Committee, Fortis Escorts Hospital, Jaipur. 14. Fortis Hospital Ethics Committee, Ludhiana, Punjab. 15. Institutional Ethics Committee, Fortis Hospital Limited, Amritsar, Punjab. Further, we also followed the guidelines for waiver of informed consent provided by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), Department of Health Research, Government of India - National Guidelines for Ethics Committees Reviewing Biomedical & Health Research During COVID-19 Pandemic-April 2020. The study was carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines as per WMA Declaration of Helsinki on ethical principles of medical research involving human subjects.