6-8% of private hospital staff infected with Covid-19 after vaccination

As many as 6-8% of healthcare workers at private hospitals got infected with Covid-19 after vaccination, as per results of surveys of healthcare workers done by three hospitals.

As many as 6-8% of healthcare workers at private hospitals got infected with Covid-19 after vaccination, as per results of surveys of healthcare workers done by three hospitals.

Hospitals said that most of the cases were mild, with few requiring oxygen support or ICU care. (Vipin Kumar /HT PHOTO)

As per an internal survey by Fortis Hospital, nearly 6% of 16,000 healthcare workers across the country, who were administered with first and second doses of vaccine between January 2021 and May 2021, got infected post-vaccination.

A similar result, an infection rate of around 6%, was reported by Max Hospital, where the survey was done among its 14,000 employees who received both jabs. At Artemis Hospital, at least 8.3% (135 out of 1,628 staff ) of breakthrough infections were reported after two doses of Covishield. The district health department, however, did not collate any data on infections after vaccination.

At Fortis Hospital, among those who got infected after getting fully vaccinated, 92% were mildly infected cases while 7% developed moderate illness, requiring oxygen support and only 1% developed severe illness requiring ICU care/ ventilation.

“The study clearly brings out important findings that the vaccines available do provide protection against the virus even in healthcare workers, who are at most risk and vulnerable to get infected with the virus. While India has sound vaccine manufacturing capacity at its disposal, what is really needed is a comprehensive and multi-pronged mass education strategy to achieve last mile delivery,” said Dr Bishnu Panigrahi, group head – medical strategy & operations, Fortis Healthcare Ltd, in a statement.

In the case of Artemis Hospital in Sector 51, there are a total of 1,848 healthcare workers at the hospital, of whom 1,628 (88.09%) had completed two-dose vaccinations. The data shared by the hospital showed that a total of 135 (8.3%) breakthrough infections were reported. The mean interval between vaccination and infection was found to be 54 days (range of 20-78 days). Infections were reported in 66 males (48.9%) and 69 females (51.1%). There was no hospitalisation reported.

Dr Namita Jaggi, the chairperson of lab services and infection control and the chief of education and research, Artemis Hospital, said, “The majority of them were infected in April. They were all mild and no hospitalisation was reported.”