Breakthrough hospitalizations 'extremely uncommon' after COVID-19
immunity, study finds
Date:
March 22, 2022
Source:
Mayo Clinic
Summary:
Fewer than 1 in 1,000 people who have been vaccinated or previously
infected with COVID-19 were hospitalized with a new breakthrough
infection, research finds. The study supports previous studies
that show vaccination is the best way to prevent severe COVID-19
infection, hospitalization and death.
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Fewer than 1 in 1,000 people who have been vaccinated or previously
infected with COVID-19 were hospitalized with a new breakthrough
infection, Mayo Clinic research finds. The study, which is published
in Clinical Infectious Diseases, supports previous studies that show vaccination is the best way to prevent severe COVID-19 infection, hospitalization and death.
==========================================================================
"In the general primary care patient population, those who have been
vaccinated have very low risk of subsequent hospitalization for
breakthrough COVID-19," says lead author Benjamin Pollock, Ph.D.,
a researcher in the Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern Center
for the Science of Health Care Delivery.
"Our study shows that while it can and does happen, that these occurrences
are extremely uncommon." The researchers created a longitudinal study
of 106,349 primary care patients at Mayo Clinic in Rochester who were
18 or older and tested positive for COVID- 19, and/or were vaccinated
for COVID-19. Of those patients, only 69 were hospitalized because of
a breakthrough COVID-19 infection.
The researchers found the hospitalization rate was:
* 0.06%, or 6 in 10,000 for vaccinated patients.
* 0.03%, or 3 in 10,000, in previously infected but unvaccinated
people.
* 0.01%, or 1 in 10,000, among those who were both vaccinated and
infected
previously.
While there were slight differences between the three groups, the
researchers note the difference is not statistically significant.
"We found these results to be in line with previous studies, although the interpretation shouldn't necessarily be that natural immunity provides
the same protection as vaccination," says Dr. Pollock. "Rather, this
study found that among our primary care population, both natural immunity
and vaccine immunity appeared to lead to very low rates of breakthrough hospitalizations." The researchers looked at breakthrough cases that
resulted in hospitalization, but they did not compare immunity after
infection and vaccination rates among mild or asymptomatic breakthrough
cases.
==========================================================================
"We know that vaccination remains the safest route to protection from
COVID-19 infection and severe disease," says Aaron Tande, M.D., a Mayo
Clinic infectious diseases physician, and a co-author of the study. "I
explain to my patients that a COVID-19 vaccine provides additional
protection, even if they have been previously infected. For those who
have not been infected, vaccination remains the safest and most reliable
route of protection." Previous studies have shown similar results, the researchers note. Some studies have shown that immunity after infection prevents the most hospitalizations.
Other studies have shown that vaccination prevents the most
hospitalizations.
In both cases, breakthrough hospitalizations are similarly rare.
"Because it's impossible to tell in advance how severe a first infection
may be, or who among vulnerable populations the virus may spread to,
waiting for natural immunity is a gamble and not a safe alternative,"
Dr. Tande says.
The research was supported by the Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia
E. Kern Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery. The center's
research focuses on transforming clinical practice. Its researchers seek
to discover new ways to improve health; translate those discoveries
into evidence-based, actionable treatments, processes and procedures;
and apply this new knowledge to improve patient care.
The senior author of the study is Priya Sampathkumar, M.D., a Mayo Clinic infectious diseases physician and head of Mayo's Infection Prevention
and Control Program. In addition to Dr. Tande, the study's co-author is
Curtis Storlie, Ph.D., a researcher in the Mayo Clinic Kern Center for
the Science of Health Care Delivery.
The research was funded by Mayo Clinic Robert D. and Patricia E. Kern
Center for the Science of Health Care Delivery. The team reports no
conflicts of interest.
========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Mayo_Clinic. Original written by
Adam Harringa. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Benjamin D Pollock, Curtis B Storlie, Aaron J Tande, Priya
Sampathkumar.
Real-world incidence of breakthrough COVID-19 hospitalization after
vaccination versus natural infection in a large, local, empaneled
primary care population using time-to-event analysis. Clinical
Infectious Diseases, 2022; DOI: 10.1093/cid/ciac186 ==========================================================================
Link to news story:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/03/220322130032.htm
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