Outbreaks of COVID-19 among healthcare personnel in a U. S. veterans administration health care system site, June and August 2023.

IF 2.7 4区医学 Q2 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology Pub Date : 2025-08-29 DOI:10.1186/s12995-025-00474-5

Ignacio A Santana, Max Blumberg, Noreen Chan, Margaret J Ansay, Phyllis C Tien, Paul D Blanc, Sandeep Guntur

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Occupational COVID-19 remains a challenge among healthcare personnel (HCP).

Methods: This study documents three COVID-19 outbreaks that occurred among vaccinated HCP within a single health care system (HCS) in California, USA in June and August 2023. The Employee Health (EH) unit for the HCS conducted surveillance with structured interviews, identifying outbreaks in real-time.

Results: In June, 10 of 25 staff (40%) at a rural outpatient clinic that serves the HCS contracted COVID-19. One week later, 10 of 90 staff (11%) at a second outpatient clinic were infected, with half the cases were staff of a single close-knit team. In August, a team-building retreat of staff from the main hospital of the HCS resulted in 15 of 23 participants (65%) contracting COVID-19. The combined attack rate for these outbreaks was 25% (95% CI: 18-32%).

Discussion: These outbreaks, despite high vaccination rates among the employees, reveal gaps in infection control, underscoring the need for stricter masking, improved ventilation, and rigorous surveillance testing. Rapid response to outbreaks and reinforcing education on symptom-based work exclusions are critical to preventing transmission among health care workers (HCWs) and their patients.

Abstract Image

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2023年6月和8月，美国退伍军人管理局医疗保健系统站点医护人员中COVID-19的爆发。

背景：职业性COVID-19仍然是卫生保健人员（HCP）面临的挑战。方法：本研究记录了2023年6月和8月在美国加利福尼亚州单一卫生保健系统（HCS）内接种HCP疫苗的三次COVID-19暴发。HCS的雇员健康（EH）部门通过结构化访谈进行监测，实时确定疫情。结果：6月，在一家为HCS服务的农村门诊诊所，25名工作人员中有10人（40%）感染了COVID-19。一周后，第二家门诊诊所的90名工作人员中有10人（11%）被感染，其中一半病例是一个关系密切的团队的工作人员。8月，HCS主要医院的工作人员进行了团队建设静修，结果23名参与者中有15人（65%）感染了COVID-19。这些暴发的总发病率为25% （95% CI: 18-32%）。讨论：尽管员工的疫苗接种率很高，但这些疫情暴露了感染控制方面的差距，强调需要更严格的口罩、改善通风和严格的监测测试。快速应对疫情和加强基于症状的排除工作教育对于预防在卫生保健工作者及其患者之间传播至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

6.00

自引率

0.00%

发文量

审稿时长

19 weeks

期刊介绍： Aimed at clinicians and researchers, the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology is a multi-disciplinary, open access journal which publishes original research on the clinical and scientific aspects of occupational and environmental health. With high-quality peer review and quick decision times, we welcome submissions on the diagnosis, prevention, management, and scientific analysis of occupational diseases, injuries, and disability. The journal also covers the promotion of health of workers, their families, and communities, and ranges from rehabilitation to tropical medicine and public health aspects.