Effectiveness of coronavirus disease-19 vaccination on disease transmission, hospitalization, and clinical outcomes in adults in North India

Abstract

Introduction: Covaxin and Covishield vaccines have been rapidly rolled out in India to curb the Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. The present study tested the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccination in adults in North India. Effectiveness was tested by considering disease transmission and post-COVID outcomes in infected individuals. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in the Department of Physiology at MGM College, Jaipur (Rajasthan, India), after approval from the Ethics Committee. Vaccinated and nonvaccinated groups were compared for disease transmission, hospitalization, and clinical outcomes. Researchers collected data using questionnaires circulated through Google forms. The association between attributes was tested using the Chi-squared test. The significance level was considered at 5%. Results: Vaccination significantly reduced disease transmission of COVID-19 (χ2 = 4.51; P = 0.034). However, no significant differences were seen in the Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction positivity, chest computed tomography findings, and hospitalization. Similarly, COVID-related symptoms and their severity did not differ significantly between the two groups. The proportion of vaccinated individuals increases with age (χ2 = 41.68; P < 0.001). Youths and older adults were vaccinated once and twice, respectively (χ2 = 41.77; P < 0.001). The severity of adverse effects postimmunization (AEFI) was similar in all age groups (χ2 = 13.22; P < 0.21). Males and females were equally vaccinated (χ2 = 1.13; P < 0.288). However, males took two doses compared to females (χ2 = 6,57; P < 0.01). Adverse effects postimmunization were more severe in females than males (χ2 = 13.10; P < 0.001). Researchers found no association between the number of vaccine doses and the severity of AEFIs (χ2 = 16.42; P = 0.06). Conclusion: The present study concludes the beneficial effect of vaccination in reducing disease transmission. However, vaccination showed no effectiveness in mitigating other COVID-related outcomes. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medical knowledge, systems-based practice, practice-based learning, and improvement.