Jabr Alwazzeh Marwan, Mohammed Telmesani Laila, Saud AlEnazi Abdulaziz, Abdulwahab Buohliqah Lamia, Talal Halawani Roa, Jatoi Noor-Ahmed, Subbarayalu Arun Vijay, Abdulaziz Almuhanna Fahd
Infectious Disease Division, Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, & King Fahad Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia.
Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, College of Medicine, King Fahad Hospital of the University, Al-Khobar, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia.
Inform Med Unlocked. 2021;27:100809. doi: 10.1016/j.imu.2021.100809. Epub 2021 Nov 30.
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is still on-going worldwide. The available information regarding the seasonal influenza vaccine (SIV) coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on SARS-CoV-2 spread are limited. Moreover, it is argued that SIV may or may not lessen the COVID-19 severity. No previous studies have been revealed SIV coverage among COVID-19 patients and its association with COVID-19 spread and severity, especially in Saudi Arabia. Hence, this study aimed to estimate the influenza vaccine uptake in confirmed COVID-19 patients and investigate its impact on COVID-19 spread and severity. Accordingly, 1734 COVID-19 confirmed patients were included from three government hospitals in Saudi Arabia (SA). The data were collected electronically through a newly formed, self-administrated questionnaire. Among those patients, 335 were covered with SIV (19.31%), and the coverage rate of females and males was 23.4% and 15.8%, respectively. Severe COVID-19 cases were less in vaccinated patients than in non-vaccinated (2.69% vs. 3.5%, respectively). Additionally, the results showed a significant decrease in getting infected by SARS-CoV-2 after receiving SIV (P = 0.022). Even with the tremendous efforts to promote SIV uptake among the general population and high-risk groups, the SIV coverage in SA is not optimal yet. Nevertheless, there is a significant decrease in the probability of getting infected with SARS-CoV-2 after receiving SIV. Such findings with the continuous progression of the COVID-19 pandemic call for a novel approach regarding vaccination policies to increase SIV and COVID-19 vaccine uptake.
2019冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行仍在全球范围内持续。关于COVID-19大流行期间季节性流感疫苗（SIV）接种率及其对严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）传播影响的现有信息有限。此外，有人认为SIV可能会减轻也可能不会减轻COVID-19的严重程度。此前尚无研究揭示COVID-19患者中的SIV接种率及其与COVID-19传播和严重程度的关联，尤其是在沙特阿拉伯。因此，本研究旨在估计确诊的COVID-19患者的流感疫苗接种情况，并调查其对COVID-19传播和严重程度的影响。相应地，从沙特阿拉伯（SA）的三家政府医院纳入了1734例确诊的COVID-19患者。数据通过新编制的自行管理问卷以电子方式收集。在这些患者中，335人接种了SIV（19.31%），女性和男性的接种率分别为23.4%和15.8%。接种疫苗的患者中严重COVID-19病例比未接种疫苗的患者少（分别为2.69%和3.5%）。此外，结果显示接种SIV后感染SARS-CoV-2的几率显著降低（P = 0.022）。即使为促进普通人群和高危人群接种SIV付出了巨大努力，SA的SIV接种率仍不理想。然而，接种SIV后感染SARS-CoV-2的概率显著降低。随着COVID-19大流行的持续发展，这些发现呼吁采取新的疫苗接种政策方法，以提高SIV和COVID-19疫苗的接种率。
