Which of the Vaccinated are at highest risk of Covid-19 hospitalisation and death

Researchers from the University of Oxford have reported on findings on the vaccinated people who are at greatest risk from severe COVID-19 leading to hospitalisation or death from 14 days post the second dose vaccination, when substantial immunity should be expected. 

In a paper published in the British Medical Journal, they write that by updating the QCovid tool developed in 2020, which directly influenced UK policy in February 2021, adding 1.5 million people in February 2021 to list of those advised to shield, they are able to identify groups more at risk of hospitalisation or death from COVID-19. They used national linked datasets from general practice, national immunisation and SARS-CoV-2 testing, death registry and hospital episode data, in order to analyse a sample of over 6.9m vaccinated adults, of whom 5.2m had both vaccines doses, which was representative of the UK population as a whole. This sample included 2,031 COVID-19 deaths and 1,929 COVID-19 related hospital admissions, of which 81 deaths and 71 admissions occurred 14 or more days after the second vaccine dose.

Based on this, the researchers have developed cumulative risk scores to calculate people's risk of hospitalisation or death from COVID-19 following one, or two vaccination doses. These scores take into account factors including age, sex, ethnic group and the background rate of COVID infections, and in particular highlight an elevated risk to:

• Those who are immunosuppressed as a result of chemotherapy, a recent bone marrow or solid organ transplant, or HIV/AIDS
• People with neurological disorders, including dementia and Parkinson's
• Care home residents, and those with chronic disorders including Down's Syndrome

The researchers report that there were relatively few COVID-19 related hospitalisations or deaths in the group who had received the second dose of any vaccine, meaning that the study lacked the statistical power to determine if the groups listed above are more, or less, at risk following a second vaccine dose compared with following the first dose. Furthermore, they did not distinguish between type of vaccination offered, and acknowledge that their study may have been limited by factors such as exposure, as occupation for example is not something that is often recorded in general practice or hospital records.

Read More: https://medicalxpress.com/news/2021-09-vaccinated-groups-highest-covid-hospitalisation.html

Read Also: https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2244