Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38289913›Full record

Observational studyPloS one2024

A prospective cohort study of SARS-CoV-2 infection-induced seroconversion and disease incidence in German healthcare workers before and during the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines.

Stephan Gehring, Frank Kowalzik, Omar Okasha, Tobias Engelmann, Daniel Schreiner, Christian Jensen, Aline Mähringer-Kunz, Wendy Hartig-Merkel, Thao Mai Phuong Tran, Cornelia Oostvogels and 1 more

Open access · goldAbstract readObservational StudyCase Reports
In one paragraph

Observational study in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.8field-weighted citation impact, top 32% 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

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
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

11 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Stephan GehringZentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-9755-9155
Frank KowalzikZentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Omar OkashaP95 Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology, Leuven, Belgium.
Tobias EngelmannZentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Daniel SchreinerZentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany.
Christian JensenZentrum für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0577-1624
Aline Mähringer-KunzKlinik und Poliklinik für Radiologie, Universitätsmedizin Mainz, Mainz, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-7082-3745
Wendy Hartig-MerkelP95 Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0001-6450-795X
Thao Mai Phuong TranP95 Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology, Leuven, Belgium.ORCID 0000-0003-2336-8302
Cornelia OostvogelsCureVac SE, Frankfurt, Germany.
Thomas VerstraetenP95 Pharmacovigilance and Epidemiology, Leuven, Belgium.
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz · DECureVac (Germany) · DE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

We assessed the seroepidemiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection and the incidence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) before and during the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, in a prospective observational cohort study on healthcare workers (HCWs) in a large tertiary hospital in Mainz, Germany. Antibody status was assessed during six visits between September 2020 and February 2022. Self-reported symptoms were collected using a smartphone application; symptomatic HCWs were tested using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assays for SARS-CoV-2. Rates of virologically confirmed and severe COVID-19 were estimated using the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) case definitions, respectively, and were contrasted to background community transmission and circulating SARS-CoV-2 variants. A total of 3665 HCWs were enrolled (mean follow-up time: 18 months); 97 met the FDA definition of virologically confirmed COVID-19 (incidence rate (IR) 2.3/1000 person-months (PMs), one severe case). Most cases reported ≥2 symptoms, commonly, cough and anosmia or ageusia. Overall, 263 individuals seroconverted (IR 6.6/1000 PMs-2.9 times the estimated IR of COVID-19), indicating many cases were missed, either due to asymptomatic infections or to an atypical presentation of symptoms. A triphasic trend in anti-SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and seroconversion was observed, with an initial increase following the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, a two-fold decline six months later, and finally a six-fold increase by the end of the study when Omicron was the dominant circulating variant. Despite the increase in infection rates at the end of the study due to the circulation of the Omicron variant, the infection and disease rates observed were lower than the published estimates in HCWs and rates in the general local population. Preferential vaccination of HCWs and the strict monitoring program for SARS-CoV-2 infection are the most likely reasons for the successful control of COVID-19 in this high-risk population.

Indexed as

COVID-19COVID-19 VaccinesHealth PersonnelHumansIncidenceProspective StudiesSARS-CoV-2SeroconversionSeroepidemiologic StudiesCOVID-19 Vaccines

Identifiers

PMID38289913
PMCPMC10826949
OpenAlexW4391343581

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.