Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36127210›Full record

ArticleVaccine2022

Change in COVID19 outbreak pattern following vaccination in long-term care facilities in Flanders, Belgium.

Jonas Crèvecoeur, Niel Hens, Thomas Neyens, Ynke Larivière, Bruno Verhasselt, Hanna Masson, Heidi Theeten

Open access · greenAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Vaccine, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
2.5field-weighted citation impact, top 11% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 10 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Jonas CrèvecoeurInteruniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics (I-BioStat), Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium; Leuven Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics Centre (L-BioStat), Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35, building D, box 7001, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: jonas.crevecoeur@uhasselt.be.
Niel HensInteruniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics (I-BioStat), Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium; Vaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, VAXINFECTIO, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium. Electronic address: niel.hens@uhasselt.be.
Thomas NeyensInteruniversity Institute for Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics (I-BioStat), Data Science Institute, Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium; Leuven Biostatistics and Statistical Bioinformatics Centre (L-BioStat), Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, Kapucijnenvoer 35, building D, box 7001, 3000 Leuven, Belgium. Electronic address: thomas.neyens@uhasselt.be.
Ynke LarivièreVaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, VAXINFECTIO, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium. Electronic address: ynke.lariviere@uantwerpen.be.
Bruno VerhasseltDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium. Electronic address: Bruno.verhasselt@uzgent.be.
Hanna MassonPrevention Department, Agentschap Zorg en Gezondheid Vlaanderen, 1030 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: hanna.masson@vlaanderen.be.
Heidi TheetenVaccine and Infectious Disease Institute, VAXINFECTIO, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerpen, Belgium; Prevention Department, Agentschap Zorg en Gezondheid Vlaanderen, 1030 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: heidi.theeten@uantwerpen.be.
Hasselt University · BEUniversity of Antwerp · BEGhent University Hospital · BE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLong term care facilities for elderly (LTCFs) in Europe encountered a high disease burden at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, these facilities were the first to receive COVID-19 vaccines in many European countries. A limited COVID-19 vaccine supply early 2021 resulted in a majority of residents and healthcare workers (HCWs) in LTCFs being vaccinated compared to a minority in the general population. This study exploits this imbalance to assess the efficiency of COVID-19 vaccination in containing outbreaks in LTCFs.

methodsExploratory statistics were performed using data from a COVID-19 surveillance system covering all 842 LTCFs in Flanders (the northern region of Belgium). The number and size of COVID-19 outbreaks in LTCFs were compared (1) before and after introducing vaccines and (2) with the status of the pandemic in the general population. Based on individual data from 15 LTCFs, the infection rate and symptoms of vaccinated and unvaccinated residents and HCWs were compared during a COVID-19 outbreak.

results95.8% of the residents and 90.9% of the HCWs in Flemish LTCFs were vaccinated before May 30, 2021. Before vaccine introduction, residents in LTCFs were 10 times more likely to test positive for COVID-19 than the general population of Flanders. This ratio reversed after vaccination. Furthermore, after vaccination fewer and shorter outbreaks were observed involving fewer residents. During these outbreaks, vaccinated and unvaccinated residents were equally likely to test positive, but positive vaccinated residents were less likely to develop severe symptoms. In contrast, unvaccinated HCWs were more likely to test positive.

conclusionIn the first half of 2021, two-dose vaccination was highly efficient in preventing and containing outbreaks in LTCFs, reducing COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. The high likelihood of unvaccinated HCWs to be involved in COVID-19 outbreaks in vaccinated LTCFs emphasizes the importance of vaccinating HCWs.

Indexed as

COVID-19Influenza, HumanAgedBelgiumCOVID-19 VaccinesDisease OutbreaksHumansLong-Term CarePandemicsVaccinationCOVID-19 VaccinesCOVID-19Healthcare workersLong term care facilitiesVaccination

Identifiers

PMID36127210
PMCPMC9472804
OpenAlexW4296312639

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.