Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic

Abstract Background Studies elucidating the risk factors for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections or assessing effectiveness of vaccination on acquisition prevention throughout the pandemic period are scarce. Here, we aimed to identify individual- and care-related risk factors and study the association...

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Main Authors: Nishi Dave, Suzanne D. van der Werff, Daniel Sjöholm, Johan Zetterqvist, Pontus Nauclér
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2025-08-01
Series:BMC Infectious Diseases
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Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-11349-9
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author Nishi Dave
Suzanne D. van der Werff
Daniel Sjöholm
Johan Zetterqvist
Pontus Nauclér
author_facet Nishi Dave
Suzanne D. van der Werff
Daniel Sjöholm
Johan Zetterqvist
Pontus Nauclér
author_sort Nishi Dave
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Background Studies elucidating the risk factors for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections or assessing effectiveness of vaccination on acquisition prevention throughout the pandemic period are scarce. Here, we aimed to identify individual- and care-related risk factors and study the association between vaccination and risk of infection for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections. Methods We performed a nested case-control study of patients aged ≥ 18 years hospitalised in Region Stockholm, between 1 March 2020 -15 November 2023. Each case was matched to up to 10 controls, on admission date, time period, and length of stay. Individual factors of sex, age, region of birth, education level, comorbidities and care-related factors such as number of transfers during care episode, surgery status, type of hospital unit and hospitals in the region were assessed. Vaccine effectiveness was assessed for number of doses and time since last vaccination. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio for risk factors and vaccine effectiveness. Results Among 2711 cases and 27,065 matched controls, older age (90 + years: 4.11 [2.71–6.23]), male sex (1.11 [1.02–1.21]) and chronic lung disease (1.25 [1.12 to 1.40]) were associated with increased odds of nosocomial infection. Among care-related factors, admission to geriatric hospital units (1.54 [1.26–1.89]) and increased number of transfers (2 + transfers: 2.48 [1.89–2.34]) were associated with higher odds. Overall, while vaccination with 2 or more doses and any time since last dose compared to being unvaccinated was associated with lower odds of infections, we observed that vaccination with 3 doses (aOR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.46–0.67), and those with their latest dose administered within the last 3 months had the lowest odds of infection (aOR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.59). Conclusions We demonstrated that vaccination is effective in reducing the risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection, and preventive measures during early phases of pandemics should focus on high-risk patient groups. Risk of infection can be further reduced by focusing on high-risk areas within hospital settings and by reducing patient transfers during their care episode.
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spelling doaj-art-b193fa0dee264fefa33fc81c224eae5e2025-08-24T11:09:56ZengBMCBMC Infectious Diseases1471-23342025-08-0125111010.1186/s12879-025-11349-9Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemicNishi Dave0Suzanne D. van der Werff1Daniel Sjöholm2Johan Zetterqvist3Pontus Nauclér4Department of Medicine, Solna, Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska InstitutetDepartment of Medicine, Solna, Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska InstitutetDepartment of Medicine, Solna, Clinical Epidemiology Division, Karolinska InstitutetDepartment of Medicine, Solna, Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska InstitutetDepartment of Medicine, Solna, Division of Infectious Diseases, Karolinska InstitutetAbstract Background Studies elucidating the risk factors for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections or assessing effectiveness of vaccination on acquisition prevention throughout the pandemic period are scarce. Here, we aimed to identify individual- and care-related risk factors and study the association between vaccination and risk of infection for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infections. Methods We performed a nested case-control study of patients aged ≥ 18 years hospitalised in Region Stockholm, between 1 March 2020 -15 November 2023. Each case was matched to up to 10 controls, on admission date, time period, and length of stay. Individual factors of sex, age, region of birth, education level, comorbidities and care-related factors such as number of transfers during care episode, surgery status, type of hospital unit and hospitals in the region were assessed. Vaccine effectiveness was assessed for number of doses and time since last vaccination. Conditional logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratio for risk factors and vaccine effectiveness. Results Among 2711 cases and 27,065 matched controls, older age (90 + years: 4.11 [2.71–6.23]), male sex (1.11 [1.02–1.21]) and chronic lung disease (1.25 [1.12 to 1.40]) were associated with increased odds of nosocomial infection. Among care-related factors, admission to geriatric hospital units (1.54 [1.26–1.89]) and increased number of transfers (2 + transfers: 2.48 [1.89–2.34]) were associated with higher odds. Overall, while vaccination with 2 or more doses and any time since last dose compared to being unvaccinated was associated with lower odds of infections, we observed that vaccination with 3 doses (aOR: 0.55, 95% CI: 0.46–0.67), and those with their latest dose administered within the last 3 months had the lowest odds of infection (aOR: 0.48, 95% CI: 0.39 to 0.59). Conclusions We demonstrated that vaccination is effective in reducing the risk of nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 infection, and preventive measures during early phases of pandemics should focus on high-risk patient groups. Risk of infection can be further reduced by focusing on high-risk areas within hospital settings and by reducing patient transfers during their care episode.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-11349-9Nosocomial infectionSARS-CoV-2Risk factorsVaccine effectivenessNested case-control
spellingShingle Nishi Dave
Suzanne D. van der Werff
Daniel Sjöholm
Johan Zetterqvist
Pontus Nauclér
Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
BMC Infectious Diseases
Nosocomial infection
SARS-CoV-2
Risk factors
Vaccine effectiveness
Nested case-control
title Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_full Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_fullStr Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_full_unstemmed Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_short Risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial SARS-CoV-2 acquisition throughout the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic
title_sort risk factors and effectiveness of vaccination for nosocomial sars cov 2 acquisition throughout the sars cov 2 pandemic
topic Nosocomial infection
SARS-CoV-2
Risk factors
Vaccine effectiveness
Nested case-control
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12879-025-11349-9
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