Serosurveillance after a COVID-19 Vaccine Campaign in a Swiss Police Cohort

DOI
Publisher DOI
PubMed ID
35759237
Abstract
Introduction: To assess the risk for COVID-19 of police officers, we are studying the seroprevalence in a cohort. The baseline cross-sectional investigation was performed prior to a vaccination campaign in January/February 2021, and demonstrated a seroprevalence of 12.9%. Here, we demonstrate serosurveillance results after a vaccination campaign.
Methods: The cohort consists of 1022 study participants. The 3-month and 6-month follow-up visits were performed in April/May and September 2021. Data on infection and vaccination rates were obtained via measuring antibodies to the nucleocapsid protein and spike protein and online questionnaires.
Results: The mean age of the population was 41 (SD 8.8) years, 72% were male and 76% had no comorbidity. Seroconversion was identified in 1.05% of the study population at the 3-month visit and in 0.73% at the 6-month visit, resulting in an infection rate of 1.8% over a time period of 6 months. In comparison, the infection rate in the general population over the same time period was higher (3.18%, P=0.018). At the 6-month visit, 77.8% of participants reported being vaccinated once and 70.5% twice; 81% had an anti-S antibody titer of >250 U/mL and 87.1% of ≥2 U/mL. No significant association between infection and job role within the department, working region, or years of experience in the job was found. Anti-spike antibody titers of vaccinated study participants showed a calculated decreasing trend 150 to 200 days after the second vaccine dose.
Conclusion: These data confirm the value of the vaccination campaign in an exposed group other than healthcare professionals.
Date Issued
2022-07
Publication Type
Article
Subject(s)
Language(s)
en
Author(s)
Thierstein, Marc
Widmer, Nadja
Tinguely, Caroline
Theel, Elitza S.
Berbari, Elie
Gowland, Peter
Additional Credits
Journal
Immunity, inflammation and disease
Publisher
Wiley
ISSN
2050-4527
Access(Rights)
open.access
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