WHO launches dengue dashboard as global threat remains high – University of Minnesota Twin Cities

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COVID-19 accounted for much more absenteeism than influenza among Greek healthcare personnel (HCP) with low vaccine uptake in 2022 and 2023, highlighting the need to stay current with vaccinations against both diseases, according to an observationalstudy led by a National Public Health Organization researcher in Athens.

For the study, published yesterday in the American Journal of Infection Control, the researchers tested symptomatic HCP at four hospitals for COVID-19 and flu from November 2022 to May 2023 to estimate the number of missed workdays by disease type. The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant was predominant during the study period.

"To our knowledge, this is the first study to compare the burden of COVID-19 and seasonal influenza among HCP using data from the same season," the authors wrote.

A total of 9.2% of HCP were fully vaccinated, and 90.8% were partially vaccinated, against COVID-19. Flu vaccination coverage was 23.1%. HCP with flu were less likely to be current with the flu vaccine than unvaccinated workers with COVID-19 (14.0% vs 26.2%).

In total, 4,245 missed workdays were associated with COVID-19, compared with 333 for flu.

Among 5,752 HCP, 734 COVID-19 (incidence, 12.8%) and 93 flu (1.6%) cases were detected.Two COVID-infected HCP were hospitalized for 4 and 5 days, respectively.

The average number of workdays missed was 5.8 for COVID-19 and 3.6 for flu. In total, 4,245 missed workdays were associated with COVID-19, compared with 333 for flu. Analyses estimated that, on average, HCP with COVID-19 were absent for 1.91 more days than those with flu.

"The shorter duration of work absence among HCP with influenza than those with COVID-19 may be attributed to the milder clinical course of influenza, the particular seasonal influenza strain, and to differences in absenteeism policies," the researchers wrote. "Indeed, although post-COVID-19 isolation is not mandatory as in the first pandemic waves, a five-days leave is common practice for HCP in Greece. In contrast, there are no official recommendations for HCP diagnosed with influenza."

The findings underscore the value of COVID-19 and flu vaccination in protecting HCP health and protecting healthcare services from absenteeism, they concluded.

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WHO launches dengue dashboard as global threat remains high - University of Minnesota Twin Cities