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Data and Connectivity: COVID-19 Vaccines group Pharmacovigilance (DaC-VaP)
In one of the largest studies of its kind, new research followed nearly 83,000 health care workers in Wales, from 7th December 2020 to 30th September 2021, following first and second doses for up to 26 weeks post-vaccination.
Published in the journal, Vaccine, the study revealed that there was a 90% vaccine uptake, with 79% receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. Investigations found that the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was 85% effective after 2 weeks from the second dose and 52% from 22 weeks. The study also found there was equitable effectiveness across age, sex, ethnicity, and deprivation groups.
The research was led by Swansea University’s Dr Stuart Bedston, Ashley Akbari, and Professor Ronan Lyons – as part of a UK-wide Team Science collaboration involving members from academic, public health, the public, and others across the UK, as part of the One Wales collaboration and National Core Study – Data and Connectivity: COVID-19 Vaccines group Pharmacovigilance (DaC-VaP) led by Professor Aziz Sheikh.
Research Officer & Data Scientist, Dr Stuart Bedston, who led the study, said, “We know health care workers are at increased risk of exposure to coronavirus. Our study assessed how effective COVID-19 vaccination, particularly the Pfizer vaccine was in an environment where the risk of exposure was higher than in the general population but also in an environment with enhanced vigilance and protective behaviours that aimed to reduce transmission. Previous studies looking into this have used self-reported data, or have been on a smaller scale, so we hope our analysis and results provide vaccination strategists with greater insight.”
Senior Research Manager & Data Scientist, Ashley Akbari, who leads the research team at Swansea, said, “Investigating the direct and indirect impacts of COVID-19, as well as interventions which can reduce negative outcomes and improve peoples lives such as the vaccination programme is vital in order for decision-makers to have the information they need to inform policy and make decisions.
Utilising the anonymised individual-level population-scale data sources from a range of health, administrative and other data sources allows researchers to evaluate and derive new knowledge that would not have been possible without the scale and linkage of data available in a trusted research environment such as the SAIL Databank. Studies which can investgate both whole population evaluations, as well as in defined subgroups on high-risk groups such as health care workers is vital as decisions are made about the ongoing pandemic.”
Professor Aziz Shiekh, Principal Investigator for DaCVaP, added, “This large national study undertaken across Wales clearly demonstrates the substantial protection vaccination offers to healthcare workers – who are a high-risk group – against SARS-CoV-2 infection. The findings for comparable effectiveness in people of different ages, both males and females, across ethnic groups and in people of different socioeconomic backgrounds is very encouraging. This research demonstrates the outstanding health data science infrastructure in Wales, which is now providing insights to guide health policy and public health decision making not only for the UK but also the rest of the world.”
The team used anonymised, linked, individual-level population-scale electronic health record and administrative data held securely within the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) Databank.
This research used data assets made available as part of the Data and Connectivity National Core Study, led by Health Data Research UK in partnership with the Office for National Statistics and funded by UK Research and Innovation.
The study team anticipates these results will provide further evidence for the Welsh vaccination strategy, which advises that frontline health and social care workers receive a booster vaccine after 6-months. It will also provide national population estimates over time of vaccine uptake and effectiveness for healthcare workers in relation to COVID-19 infection, as well as estimates of uptake and effectiveness across a range of sociodemographic characteristics, most notably health care occupation.
The full research paper can be found here: