Occupation: a predisposing factor for SARS-CoV-2 infection among hospital employees? A single-centre retrospective cohort study conducted in Austria.

Objectives: To identify occupational subpopulations at risk and predisposing factors for SARS-CoV-2 infections among hospital employees in a large tertiary hospital in Central Europe. Methods: In this retrospective observational study, the incidences of SARS-CoV-2 occurring between 2 November 2020 and 1 July 2022, among employees and in the general population, were determined based on real-world data. From the infected personnel, information on sex, age, occupation and vaccination status was obtained and analysed. Results: 3812 employees acquired SARS-CoV-2 at least once during the 607-day study period. Particularly high absolute and relative infection rates were noted in staff in operational roles, as demonstrated by 948 infected members or 62.1% of this particular occupational cohort, consisting of 1526 employees. Additionally, infections occurred early in the study period and repeated infections were frequently observed. The numbers of unvaccinated employees were higher and of fully vaccinated employees lower in this occupational group. Vaccinations were further initiated significantly later in the operational staff compared with other occupational groups. Notably, nursing staff and physicians working front line were less frequently tested SARS-CoV-2 positive with 862 out of 3252 (26.5%) and 668 out of 2617 (25.6%) employees, respectively. The weekly epidemic curve in the hospital employees paralleled the observed incidences in the general population, although the proportion of infected was lower in the hospital employees. Conclusions: The observed differences in incidences and vaccine acceptance between the individual occupational cohorts showed that providing customised information on disease prevention and vaccination benefits to distinct subgroups is pivotal for hospital management strategies.