Resurgence of COVID-19 in Vaccinated Health Care Worker Populations

Brianna Salas, a nurse in the Emergency Department at UC San Diego Health, receives the COVID-19 vaccine (Brianna Salas, 2020). She was the first member of the UC San Diego Health team to receive this vaccine.

The COVID-19 pandemic has hit the United States, and the world as a whole, hard. Rapid increases in infected patient numbers towards the beginning of the pandemic revealed some cracks in the world’s ability to deploy emergency medical care at scale. Shortages in medical supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) forced healthcare providers to get creative to not only provide their patients with a high level of care but to also keep themselves safe.

With the hard work and dedication of researchers around the world, several COVID-19 vaccines have been developed to combat the highly infectious disease. As of the date of writing this, it is reported that 44.1% of the world’s population has received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine (Ritchie et. al, 2020). In the United States, 52% of the population is recorded as fully vaccinated.

As we headed into the summer, and as vaccinated populations increased, a number of states determined that the mask mandate could be lifted. However, this decision, along with the rise of the Delta Variant, has proved to be a dangerous combination. A recent correspondence from workers at University of California San Diego Health included in the New England Journal of Medicine demonstrates why (Keehner et. al, 2021).

As of July of this year, 87% of the UC San Diego Health workforce has been fully vaccinated. With increasing numbers of vaccinated workers starting in mid-December 2020, the workforce saw decreases in COVID-19 cases. Between March and June, less than 30 positive cases were seen each month. However, with the mask mandate in California lifted in June and the increase in prevalence of the Delta Variant, the UC San Diego Health workforce saw a dramatic rise in cases in July.

Between March and June, UC San Diego Health calculated that vaccine effectiveness was over 90%, but in July, it dropped to 65.5%. Supporting data can be seen in the cited correspondence from UC San Diego Health.

This story is not unique to UC San Diego Health. Unfortunately, we aren’t out of the woods yet. Not by a long shot. With patient numbers increasing again, and especially with the Delta Variant on the rise, it is unlikely that the world will see the end of this pandemic soon. Our team at iSolace, Inc. continues to be grateful to everyone doing their part to combat this virus, from the health care providers administering lifesaving care, to the engineers and researchers developing new technologies to keep us all safe, and to every individual who has gotten vaccinated.

Sources:

Brianna Salas, a nurse in the Emergency Department at UC San Diego Health, was the first team member to receive the COVID-19 vaccine - at 8:38 a.m. on Wednesday. (2020, December 17). UC San Diego. https://ucsdnews.ucsd.edu/feature/ending-the-pandemic-begins-now.

Keehner, J., Horton, L. E., Binkin, N. J., Laurent, L. C., Pride, D., Longhurst, C. A., Abeles, S. R., & Torriani, F. J. (2021, September 1). Resurgence of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in a Highly Vaccinated Health System Workforce. New England Journal of Medicine. DOI: 10.1056/NEJMc2112981

Ritchie, H., Mathieu, E., Rodés-Guirao, L., Appel, C., Giattino, C., Ortiz-Ospina, E., Hasell, J., Macdonald, B., Beltekian, D., & Roser, M. (2020). Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19). OurWorldInData.org. https://ourworldindata.org/coronavirus.