COVID-19 despite vaccination – who is most at risk? A risk calculator was created

People who have been vaccinated against the coronavirus can suffer from COVID-19. It is then said about the so-called breakthrough infections. They are rare and are usually mild, but not always. For whom breakthrough infection can end up in hospital or even death? UK experts have created a special risk calculator called QCOVID3. “It helps to identify those who are most at risk after vaccination,” explains Dr. Aziz Sheikh.

1. It is possible to become ill with COVID-19 after vaccination. These so-called Breakthrough infections, however, are very rare and are usually mild
2. While there have been few deaths or hospitalizations in the UK following COVID-19 vaccination, it is known that there are groups of people at higher risk of serious breakthrough infections
3. A risk calculator developed by British scientists helps identify those who remain most at risk of severe breakthrough infection
4. Although the tool has some limitations, 11 groups with a higher level of risk have been identified
5. More information can be found on the Onet homepage.

COVID-19 after vaccination. Why is this possible?

Coronavirus infections are possible among people vaccinated against COVID-19. Infections that occur despite receiving the vaccine are described as “breakthrough” or “breakthrough”. They come as no surprise to doctors. – This is something we expect – said Dr. Lidia Stopyra, a specialist in infectious diseases this spring. – Remember that there is no vaccine that would have 100 percent. effectiveness – the expert reminds. More in the article: COVID-19 despite the vaccine. When can this happen, is it dangerous? The doctor explains.

The second important point is the fact that vaccinations are mainly about preventing severe disease and complications, including death. So it may happen that we get sick after receiving the vaccine. Fortunately, this happens very rarely and the vast majority of cases are mild (including asymptomatic). However, this does not exclude the situation that breakthrough infection will be serious. The British decided to explore this issue.

“Although there have been very few deaths or hospitalizations following vaccination in the UK, several groups were more at risk than others,” reports Medical News Today. So a tool was created, a kind of risk calculator, identifying people with the highest risk of serious consequences of breakthrough coronavirus infections. “We hope this information will allow both healthcare professionals and patients to make more informed decisions about COVID-19 related strategies,” the researchers emphasized in the article unveiling the new tool.

COVID-19 despite vaccination. What is a risk calculator?

Prior to the advent of COVID-19 vaccines, UK experts developed a risk assessment tool – called QCOVID. In this way, it was possible to identify people with the highest risk of death or hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 infection. The creation of QCOVID resulted in the inclusion of 1,5 million people in the National List of Protected Patients (the so-called SPL, a register of patients considered to be at high risk of complications from COVID-19). It also helped to prioritize immunization.

In view of the (low) risk of breakthrough infections in vaccinated subjects, the QCOVID tool has been updated. This is how a risk calculator known as QCOVID3 was createdwho identified several groups among people vaccinated against COVID-19 who are at particular risk of death or hospitalization due to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

– A huge study of over 5 million people vaccinated with [two] doses in the UK has shown that a small number of people remain at risk of hospitalization and death from COVID-19. Our risk calculator helps identify those who remain most at risk after vaccination, explained Dr. Aziz Sheikh, director of the Usher Institute at the University of Edinburgh.

COVID-19 despite vaccination. Who is most at risk of severe mileage?

More than 3 million datasets of adults vaccinated against COVID-6 were tested using the QCOVID19 algorithm. Over 5 million of them were fully vaccinated. Who turned out to be most at risk of severe breakthrough infections? The QCOVID3 tool identified the following groups (in descending order):

1. people with Down syndrome
2. kidney transplant recipients
3. people with sickle cell anemia
4. residents of nursing homes
5. people receiving chemotherapy
6. people who have recently undergone a bone marrow or solid organ transplant
7. persons with HIV or AIDS
8. people with dementia
9. people with Parkinson’s disease
10. people with several rare neurological conditions
11. people with cirrhosis

Interestingly, vaccinated people from Pakistan and India had twice the risk. Scientists speculate that this may reflect other, non-physiological factors that were no longer included in the study.

Post-vaccination COVID-19 and risk calculator. Limitations accompanying the study

The researchers point out that there were so few deaths or hospitalizations among people after two doses of the vaccine that no conclusions could be drawn about the likelihood of a breakthrough infection following a full course of vaccination compared to the first dose. “Most of the information comes from people who have only had one dose.”

Researchers also note that the study did not take into account the types of vaccines, so the relationship between them and reported results was also not investigated.

Another point highlighted by British scientists is that the follow-up period after vaccination was relatively short – up to 70 days. Due to insufficient data, the results related to the different variants of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus were also not taken into account.

You may be interested in:

1. To what extent can COVID-19 vaccinations be contagious? Scientists: The findings are credible
2. A breakthrough in the treatment of COVID-19? A pill that reduces the risk of death. How it works?
3. COVID-19 and the flu at the same time? It is possible. Doctor: disastrous consequences

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