Predictors of seropositivity to SARS-CoV-2 among employees at a large urban medical center

• Published in: BMC public health Vol. 24; no. 1; pp. 2754 - 14
• Main Authors: Kupferwasser, Deborah, Flores, Evelyn A., Merino, Prudencio, Tran, Donna Phan, Liu, Honghu, Huang, Yilan, Bolaris, Michael, Nguyen, Megan H., Gonzales, Mildred, Da Silva, Wellington, Astorga-Cook, Leslie, Abueg, Angel, Mason, Holli, Miller, Loren G.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 09.10.2024; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Adult; Antibodies, Viral - blood; Attitudes; Consent; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 vaccines; Employees; Environmental aspects; Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; Female; Health aspects; Health care; Health care facilities; Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data; Health system workforce; Human subjects; Humans; IgG antibody; Immunoglobulin G; Infection; Infections; Male; Medical centers; Medical laboratories; Medical personnel; Middle Aged; Minority & ethnic groups; Occupational health and safety; Pandemics; Personal Protective Equipment - statistics & numerical data; Population; Practice; Protective equipment; Questionnaires; Regression analysis; Risk Factors; Safety equipment; SARS-CoV-2; SARS-CoV-2 - immunology; Self-efficacy; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Serology; Seropositivity; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vaccination; Young Adult; United States; Los Angeles County California; United States > US; California; SARS-CoV-2; Seropositivity; Health system workforce
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-20274-6

Before SARS-CoV-2 vaccination availability, medical center employees were at high risk of COVID-19. However, risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection in medical center employees, both healthcare and non-healthcare workers, are poorly understood. From September-December 2020, free IgG antibody testing was offered to all employees at a large urban medical center. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on work and non-work related risk factors for COVID-19 infection. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was found in 4.7%. Seropositivity was associated with close contact with COVID-19 cases with or without the use of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), (OR 3.1 [95% CI 1.4-6.9] and OR 4.7 [95% CI 2.0-11.0] respectively), never wearing a mask outside of work (OR 10.1 [95% CI 1.9-57]), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander race (OR 6.3 95% CI (1.6-25)]. Among workers in a large urban medical center, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was associated with work-related COVID-19 close contacts and low mask use outside of work, suggesting that non-workplace close contacts are also relevant routes of COVID-19 spread among healthcare workers.