Medical Corps, Israel Defense Force, Ramat Gan, Israel.
Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2023 Jun;27(12):5878-5884. doi: 10.26355/eurrev_202306_32827.
Sick leave is a major negative economic effect of the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2021, the Integrated Benefits Institute reported that employers spent a total of US $50.5 billion for workers absent due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While vaccination programs lowered the number of severe illness and hospitalizations worldwide, the number of side effects following vaccination against COVID-19 were high. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of vaccination on the probability of taking sick leave in the week following vaccination.
The study population was comprised of all personnel serving in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) between October 7, 2020, and October 3, 2021, (a total of 52 weeks) who were vaccinated with at least one dose of the BNT162b2 vaccine. Data on Israel Defense Forces (IDF) personnel sick leaves were retrieved and the probability of a "post-vaccination week sick leave" and a "regular (not post-vaccination week) sick leave" were analyzed. An additional analysis was performed to determine whether winter-related diseases or the sex of the personnel affected the probability of taking sick leave.
The probability of taking sick leave in a post-vaccination week was significantly higher than the probability of taking sick leave in a regular week (8.45% vs. 4.3%, respectively, p < 0.01). The increased probability remained unchanged after analysis of sex-related and winter disease-related variables.
Given the major effect of vaccination against COVID-19 by BNT162b2 vaccine on the probability of taking sick leave, when medically feasible, the timing of the vaccination should be considered by medical, military, and industrial authorities with the intent to minimize the effect on overall national economy and safety.
病假是 COVID-19 大流行的主要负面经济影响。2021 年 4 月，综合福利协会报告称，雇主总共花费了 505 亿美元用于支付因 COVID-19 大流行而缺勤的工人。虽然疫苗接种计划降低了全球范围内严重疾病和住院的数量，但 COVID-19 疫苗接种后的副作用数量很高。本研究旨在评估疫苗接种对疫苗接种后一周内请病假的概率的影响。
研究人群包括 2020 年 10 月 7 日至 2021 年 10 月 3 日期间在以色列国防军（IDF）服役的所有人员（共 52 周），他们至少接种了一剂 BNT162b2 疫苗。检索了以色列国防军（IDF）人员病假的数据，并分析了“接种后一周病假”和“常规（非接种后一周）病假”的概率。进行了额外的分析，以确定冬季相关疾病或人员的性别是否影响请病假的概率。
接种后一周请病假的概率明显高于常规周请病假的概率（分别为 8.45%和 4.3%，p<0.01）。在分析了与性别和冬季疾病相关的变量后，这种增加的可能性保持不变。
鉴于 BNT162b2 疫苗对 COVID-19 的疫苗接种对请病假的概率有重大影响，在医学上可行的情况下，医疗、军事和工业当局应考虑接种疫苗的时间，以期将对整个国民经济和安全的影响降到最低。
