Comparison of the effect of vaccination on the incidence of coronavirus
disease 2019 among biomedical and non-biomedical students in Spain.
Abstract
Vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Spain began
in the year 2020, starting by groups with high exposure, including
biomedical students with clinical practices. It is suggested that these
students could have a lower incidence of COVID-19 than other students of
the same age group due to early vaccination, different exposure, and
disease awareness. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted
through a questionnaire distributed in February 2022. 536 people
answered the questionnaire and 53 were excluded, making 483 evaluable
(320 biomedical and 163 non-biomedical), 73.71% women, 98.55%
vaccinated and 52.59% never infected. 67.81% of biomedical students
had clinical practices. No differences were found in the incidence
between biomedical and non-biomedical students (54.06% versus 53.99%,
p=0. 952); nor when classifying it specifically by periods, although
there is a tendency towards significance in the third (July
2021-November 2021) period (9.20% non-biomedical and 4.38% biomedical,
p=0.051). The students receiving the vaccine earlier than their age
group have a lower incidence in this period (2.90% vs 8.18%, p=0.014).
The booster dose reduced the incidence during period 4 (24% versus
34.4%, p=0.017). These data suggest that biomedical students are not at
increased risk for COVID-19, but that early vaccination reduces the
incidence of infection.