The COVID-19 vaccination provides protection at a rate of 97.4 per cent against coronavirus infection, said a study conducted by Apollo Hospital Group to investigate the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among the symptomatic-vaccinated healthcare workers (HCWs) and to analyse the severity of their disease.

The study conducted on 3,235 HCW (2480 received both doses while 755 received a single dose) showed that COVID-19 infection after vaccination is primarily minor and did not lead to severe disease.

The symptomatic post-vaccination infections in these HCWs were evaluated for the study, and it was found that eighty-five of 3235 (2.63 per cent) vaccinated HCWs acquired the COVID-19 infection after vaccination during the study period.
"Of these, 65 (76.5 per cent) were fully vaccinated (FV), and 20 (23.5 per cent) were partially vaccinated (PV) and the protection rate of vaccination was 97.4 per cent," study said.

The study noted that an odds ratio of acquiring infection among females was 1.84 times higher, but explained that it was "mainly because of their greater involvement in the patient care as nursing personnel. The chances of infection were the highest in the medical and nursing personnel as compared to paramedical, administrative and supporting staff." Among the HCWs studied, only two required hospitalisation (0.06 per cent), none needed an intensive care unit (ICU) admission and there were no deaths. The study further added that in all the 85 infected cases, there were mild symptoms such as cough, fever, malaise and loss of taste and smell.