COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.

We evaluated the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among South Asians living in Ontario, Canada compared to non-South Asians and compared the odds of symptomatic COVID-19 infection and related hospitalizations and deaths among non-vaccinated South Asians and non-South Asians. This was a test negati...

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Main Authors: Rahul Chanchlani, Baiju R Shah, Shrikant I Bangdiwala, Russell J de Souza, Jin Luo, Shelly Bolotin, Dawn M E Bowdish, Dipika Desai, Karl Everett, Scott A Lear, Mark Loeb, Zubin Punthakee, Diana Sherifali, Gita Wahi, Sonia S Anand
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2024-01-01
Series:PLOS Global Public Health
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003490
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author Rahul Chanchlani
Baiju R Shah
Shrikant I Bangdiwala
Russell J de Souza
Jin Luo
Shelly Bolotin
Dawn M E Bowdish
Dipika Desai
Karl Everett
Scott A Lear
Mark Loeb
Zubin Punthakee
Diana Sherifali
Gita Wahi
Sonia S Anand
author_facet Rahul Chanchlani
Baiju R Shah
Shrikant I Bangdiwala
Russell J de Souza
Jin Luo
Shelly Bolotin
Dawn M E Bowdish
Dipika Desai
Karl Everett
Scott A Lear
Mark Loeb
Zubin Punthakee
Diana Sherifali
Gita Wahi
Sonia S Anand
author_sort Rahul Chanchlani
collection DOAJ
description We evaluated the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among South Asians living in Ontario, Canada compared to non-South Asians and compared the odds of symptomatic COVID-19 infection and related hospitalizations and deaths among non-vaccinated South Asians and non-South Asians. This was a test negative design study conducted in Ontario, Canada between December 14, 2020 and November 15, 2021. All eligible individuals >18 years with symptoms of COVID-19 were subdivided by ethnicity (South Asian vs other) and vaccination status (vaccinated versus not). The primary outcome was vaccine effectiveness as defined by COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, and secondary outcome was the odds of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and death comparing non-vaccinated South Asians to non-vaccinated non-South Asians. 883,155 individuals were included. Among South Asians, two doses of COVID-19 vaccine prevented 93.8% (95% CI 93.2, 94.4) of COVID-19 infections and 97.5% (95% CI 95.2, 98.6) of hospitalizations and deaths. Among non-South Asians, vaccines prevented 86.6% (CI 86.3, 86.9) of COVID-19 infections and 93.1% (CI 92.2, 93.8) of hospitalizations and deaths. Non-vaccinated South Asians had higher odds of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to non-vaccinated non-South Asians (OR 2.35, 95% CI 2.3, 2.4), regardless of their immigration status. COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing infections, hospitalizations and deaths among South Asians living in Canada. The observation that non-vaccinated South Asians have higher odds of symptomatic COVID-19 infection warrants further investigation.
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spelling doaj-art-81fe266bf1de4e0c8126ee4e5cf760922025-08-20T02:47:03ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLOS Global Public Health2767-33752024-01-0148e000349010.1371/journal.pgph.0003490COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.Rahul ChanchlaniBaiju R ShahShrikant I BangdiwalaRussell J de SouzaJin LuoShelly BolotinDawn M E BowdishDipika DesaiKarl EverettScott A LearMark LoebZubin PunthakeeDiana SherifaliGita WahiSonia S AnandWe evaluated the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among South Asians living in Ontario, Canada compared to non-South Asians and compared the odds of symptomatic COVID-19 infection and related hospitalizations and deaths among non-vaccinated South Asians and non-South Asians. This was a test negative design study conducted in Ontario, Canada between December 14, 2020 and November 15, 2021. All eligible individuals >18 years with symptoms of COVID-19 were subdivided by ethnicity (South Asian vs other) and vaccination status (vaccinated versus not). The primary outcome was vaccine effectiveness as defined by COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and deaths, and secondary outcome was the odds of COVID-19 infections, hospitalizations, and death comparing non-vaccinated South Asians to non-vaccinated non-South Asians. 883,155 individuals were included. Among South Asians, two doses of COVID-19 vaccine prevented 93.8% (95% CI 93.2, 94.4) of COVID-19 infections and 97.5% (95% CI 95.2, 98.6) of hospitalizations and deaths. Among non-South Asians, vaccines prevented 86.6% (CI 86.3, 86.9) of COVID-19 infections and 93.1% (CI 92.2, 93.8) of hospitalizations and deaths. Non-vaccinated South Asians had higher odds of symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection compared to non-vaccinated non-South Asians (OR 2.35, 95% CI 2.3, 2.4), regardless of their immigration status. COVID-19 vaccines are effective in preventing infections, hospitalizations and deaths among South Asians living in Canada. The observation that non-vaccinated South Asians have higher odds of symptomatic COVID-19 infection warrants further investigation.https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003490
spellingShingle Rahul Chanchlani
Baiju R Shah
Shrikant I Bangdiwala
Russell J de Souza
Jin Luo
Shelly Bolotin
Dawn M E Bowdish
Dipika Desai
Karl Everett
Scott A Lear
Mark Loeb
Zubin Punthakee
Diana Sherifali
Gita Wahi
Sonia S Anand
COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.
PLOS Global Public Health
title COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.
title_full COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.
title_fullStr COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.
title_full_unstemmed COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.
title_short COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among South Asians in Canada.
title_sort covid 19 vaccine effectiveness among south asians in canada
url https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0003490
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