Vaccine effectiveness against referral to hospital after SARS-CoV-2 infection in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the Delta variant surge: a test-negative case-control study

Anton Barchuk; Mikhail Cherkashin; Anna Bulina; Natalia Berezina; Tatyana Rakova; Darya Kuplevatskaya; Oksana Stanevich; Dmitriy Skougarevskiy; Artemiy Okhotin

doi:10.1186/s12916-022-02509-8

Vaccine effectiveness against referral to hospital after SARS-CoV-2 infection in St. Petersburg, Russia, during the Delta variant surge: a test-negative case-control study

BMC Med. 2022 Sep 20;20(1):312. doi: 10.1186/s12916-022-02509-8.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Institute for Interdisciplinary Health Research, European University at St. Petersburg, Shpalernaya Ulitsa 1, St. Petersburg, 191187, Russia. abarchuk@eu.spb.ru.
² Medical Institute named after Berezin Sergey, Esenina Ulitsa 2-3a, St. Petersburg, 194354, Russia.
³ Institute for Interdisciplinary Health Research, European University at St. Petersburg, Shpalernaya Ulitsa 1, St. Petersburg, 191187, Russia.
⁴ ITMO University, Kronverksky Prospekt 49, St. Petersburg, 197101, Russia.
⁵ Tarusa Hospital, Karla Libknekhta Ulitsa 16, Tarusa, 249100, Russia.

Abstract

Background: The results of a randomised trial showed the safety and efficacy of Gam-COVID-Vac against COVID-19. However, compared to other vaccines used across the globe, the real-world data on the effectiveness of Gam-COVID-Vac, especially against the disease caused by the Delta variant of concern, was limited. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of vaccination mainly conducted with Gam-COVID-Vac in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Methods: We designed a case-control study to assess the vaccine effectiveness (VE) against referral to hospital. Self-reported vaccination status was collected for individuals with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection who were referred for initial low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) triage in two outpatient centres in July 3-August 9, 2021, in St. Petersburg, Russia. We used logistic regression models to estimate the adjusted (for age, sex, and triage centre) VE for complete (14 days or more after the second dose) vaccination. We estimated the VE against referral for hospital admission, COVID-19-related lung injury assessed with LDCT, and decline in oxygen saturation.

Results: In the final analysis, 13,893 patients were included, 1291 (9.3%) patients met our criteria for complete vaccination status, and 495 (3.6%) were referred to hospital. In the primary analysis, the adjusted VE against referral to hospital was 81% (95% confidence interval: 68-88) for complete vaccination. The VE against referral to hospital was more pronounced in women (84%, 95% CI: 66-92) compared to men (76%, 95% CI: 51-88). Vaccine protective effect increased with increasing lung injury categories, from 54% (95% CI: 48-60) against any sign of lung injury to 76% (95% CI: 59-86) against more than 50% lung involvement. A sharp increase was observed in the probability of hospital admission with age for non-vaccinated patients in relation to an almost flat relationship for the completely vaccinated group.

Conclusions: COVID-19 vaccination was effective against referral to hospital in patients with symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection in St. Petersburg, Russia. This protection is probably mediated through VE against lung injury associated with COVID-19.

Keywords: COVID-19; Case-control study; Pneumonia; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccine effectiveness.

Publication types

Controlled Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

COVID-19 Vaccines
COVID-19* / prevention & control
Case-Control Studies
Female
Hospitals
Humans
Lung Injury*
Male
Referral and Consultation
SARS-CoV-2
Vaccine Efficacy

Substances

COVID-19 Vaccines

Supplementary concepts

SARS-CoV-2 variants