Assessing COVID-19 Risks among Egyptian Healthcare Workers: Incidence, Reinfection, and Vaccination Insights: A Retrospective Study

Background: The onset of COVID-19 has posed significant hurdles for both public health and the global economy. The most effective strategy for managing the outbreak lies in the widespread embrace of vaccination. Numerous COVID-19 vaccines have been created and approved for deployment across different parts of the world. Objective: Identifying instances of COVID-19 infection and reinfection, analyzing the factors contributing to these occurrences, and assessing the vaccination status and potential side effects among healthcare workers. Methodology: This cross-sectional study involved healthcare workers from a university Hospitals. The questionnaire comprised four sections: participant demographics, initial COVID-19 infection, COVID-19 reinfection, and vaccination status. Results: Healthcare workers faced elevated risks of both initial infection (46.4%) and reinfection (29.2%) due to potential transmission within the healthcare setting, as well as from patients and the wider community. Reinfection cases typically exhibited more severe symptoms compared to initial infections, leading to increased rates of hospitalization and intensive care unit admissions (p value <0.001). AstraZeneca (24.6%), Pfizer (23.8%), Sinopharm (20.9%), and Sinovac (20.2%) emerged as the most administered vaccines. Non-vaccinated participants faced heightened susceptibility to COVID-19 infection, experienced more severe symptoms, and were more likely to require hospitalization. Following vaccination, side effects were more commonly reported with Johnson & Johnson (47.6%%) and Sputnik vaccines (46.7%%), typically manifesting within the first day and lasting one to three days.Conclusions: Understanding the risk factors for COVID-19 infection and reinfection is crucial for developing effective prevention strategies, especially among healthcare workers who face heightened exposure.