key: cord-0970362-76gcj4jl
authors: Kumar, Niraj; Misra, Brij Ranjan; Reddy, Mahendra M.; Deval, Hirawati; Zaman, Kamran; Kant, Rajni
title: COVID‐19 transmission among vaccinated laboratory workers during the second wave in eastern Uttar Pradesh, India
date: 2022-04-23
journal: J Med Virol
DOI: 10.1002/jmv.27788
sha: fb66bca0b33aa0fd53784134688952f6c179596e
doc_id: 970362
cord_uid: 76gcj4jl

We read with interest the article by Kaur et al., 2022. The authors have reported high rate (27%) of SARS-CoV2 infections among ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222/Covishield) vaccinated participants (healthcare workers and elderly non-healthcare general public). Based on findings, we would like to share our experience at Indian Council of Medical Research-Regional Medical Research Centre (ICMR-RMRC), Gorakhpur (ICMR recognised nodal centre for COVID-19 diagnosis in eastern Uttar Pradesh) situated at Gorakhpur, a city near Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh, India during the same timeline (April 2021). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

The high C t values (≤30 cycles) of RT-PCR results indicate that, if fully vaccinated individuals do become infected, the viruses can multiply in nasal mucosa a primary entry site for respiratory viruses, as efficiently as seen in the unvaccinated case. 4, 5 The cases with an asterisk (*) mark in Table 1 , highlight that at least one of the family members were also infected with COVID-19. Although, a direct role in the transmission of infections to their family members could not be established, however, studies have shown that high viral load in vaccinated individuals may play a role in the transmission of the virus in community and also household settings. 4 Studies have shown that vaccination helps in clearing the viruses efficiently (decline rates 3 days mean duration). 4 Similar findings were noted in our cases; most of the vaccinated positive staff turned out negative after 10 days of home isolation except for one case (Case no. 21). Whereas in the unvaccinated case (Case no. 1), the virus was detectable even after 15 days of home isolation. Hence, breaking home isolation even after 10 days without going for RT-PCR detection might have proven to be of risk for the community. The two staff members (Case no. 6 and Case no. 18), who were completely or partially immunized (Table 1) The five staff marked with a dollar sign ($) were found positive again with the COVID-19 virus in the third wave (combination of Omicron and Delta variants) 5 and turned out negative after 1 week. In our study, we were unable to determine the variants of SARS-CoV2 in our infected cases due to crisis. However, the association with the Delta variant may be extrapolated taking into account the time period (April 2021) when the entire country was witnessing the Delta variant surge. 6, 7 As on March 17, 2022, India has vaccinated around 76% of its adult population. Hence, even after full vaccination, one must follow the COVID-19 appropriate behavior such as wearing masks, sanitizing hands regularly, and maintaining social distance whenever in the community.

T A B L E 1 Details of COVID-19 vaccination and outcomes among COVID-19-positive laboratory workers during second wave (n = 21). 

Occurrence of COVID-19 in priority groups receiving ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 coronavirus vaccine (recombinant): a preliminary analysis from north India

Genome sequencing reveals a mixed picture of SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern circulation in Eastern Uttar Pradesh

Strategy for COVID-19 vaccination in India: the country with the second highest population and number of cases

Community transmission and viral load kinetics of the SARS-CoV-2 delta (B.1.617.2) variant in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals in the UK: a prospective, longitudinal, cohort study

Twin combination of Omicron and Delta variants triggering a tsunami wave of ever high surges in COVID-19 cases: a challenging global threat with a special focus on the Indian subcontinent

State-wise VOCs

Delta variant behind India's 2nd wave, 7 strains circulating in & around Varanasi, study finds