Evaluation of healthcare workers at Akdeniz University Hospital in terms of post-COVID syndrome according to vaccination status before COVİD-19 infection

Aim: The aim of this study is to evaluate the possible effects of vaccination against post-COVID syndrome by evaluating healthcare workers at Akdeniz University Hospital, diagnosed with COVID-19 by rt-PCR test, in terms of post-COVID according to their pre-infection COVID-19 vaccination status. Method: Participants with a diagnosis of COVID-19 confirmed by rt-PCR, who agreed to participate in the study; the research questionnaire questioning socio-demographic characteristics, presence of chronic disease, COVID-19 vaccine status, date of diagnosis of COVID-19, post-COVID symptoms and durations was applied by face-to-face interview technique. Post-COVID; It was defined as the presence of symptoms ongoing more than 4 weeks after the diagnosis of COVID-19 infection and were not explained by an alternative diagnosis. SPSS 22.0 package program was used for statistical evaluation, Chi-square analysis was applied to examine symptom and post-COVID status of vaccinated and unvaccinated groups. Significant decision making value was taken as p<0.05. Results: A total of 194 participants, 67% of whom were women (n=130), were included in the study. The incidence of post-COVID among the participants was 44.8%. Post-COVID was 29.5% in the vaccinated and 65.8% in the unvaccinated (p=0.01). The most common symptoms in participants with post-COVID are; fatigue or weakness (47.1%), difficulty thinking or concentrating (37.9%), and coughing (33.3%). There was a significant difference between the vaccinated and unvaccinated groups in terms of post-COVID in 4 of the symptoms questioned; fatigue or weakness (p=0.01), shortness of breath (p=0.04), loss/change in smell or taste (p=0.01), depression or anxiety (p=0.04). Conclusion: In our study, it was concluded that immunization with pre-infection vaccination is protective in terms of post-COVID syndrome and vaccination provides positive effects in terms of symptom frequency and duration. Considering that infections originating from SARS-CoV 2 continue and cause complex consequences such as post-COVID, it will be important to continue to research protective mechanisms such as vaccines. Keywords: COVID-19, Post-COVID, Long COVID, COVID-19 Vaccine.