Testing for SARS-CoV-2 in Symptomatic Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Health Care Workers During the Delta Variant Surge

Background: Infection with SARS- CoV- 2 in health care workers (HCWs) challenges employee health services.

Methods: We analyzed telephone Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) hotline data over 8 weeks in 2021 during SARS- CoV- 2 Delta variant surge. We calculated COVID-19 case rates among persons-under-investigation (PUIs) for illness at two health care centers (HCs).

Results: There were 41 COVID-19 cases among the 285 PUIs (14.4%) at the study HC and 549 (16.9%) of 3244 at the comparison HC. At the study HC, 11.7% of vaccinated PUIs versus 36.6% of unvaccinated PUIs were COVID-19 positive. The COVID-19 positivity rates among vaccinated and unvaccinated PUIs at the comparison HC were 16.1% and 33.3%, respectively.

Discussion: In the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant surge, COVID-19 test positivity rates among unvaccinated symptomatic HCWs are dramatically elevated. Aggressive testing of HCW PUIs is particularly critical during periods of disease upsurge.