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Wastewater-Based Surveillance Reveals the Effectiveness of the First COVID-19 Vaccination Campaigns in Assisted Living Facilities

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected vulnerable populations, including residents of assisted living facilities (ALFs). This study investigates the impact of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and mass vaccination campaigns on SARS-CoV-2 transmission dynamics within four ALFs in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States from January to April 2021. Initial observations reveal a significant SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in Maricopa County, with 7452 new COVID-19 cases reported on 4 January 2021. Wastewater surveillance indicates elevated viral loads within ALFs with peak concentrations reaching 1.35 × 107 genome copies/L at Facility 1 and 4.68 × 105 copies/L at Facility 2. The implementation of NPIs, including isolation protocols, resulted in a rapid decline in viral loads in wastewater. Following mass vaccination campaigns, viral loads reduced across all facilities, except Facility 4. Facility 1 demonstrated a mean viral load decrease from 1.65 × 106 copies/L to 1.04 × 103 copies/L post-vaccination, with a statistically significant U-statistic of 28.0 (p-value = 0.0027). Similar trends are observed in Facilities 2 and 3, albeit with varying degrees of statistical significance. In conclusion, this study provides evidence supporting the role of NPIs and vaccination campaigns in controlling SARS-CoV-2 transmission within ALFs.

Source: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph21091259

Authors: Katherine I. Brenner, Bryan Walser, Joseph Cooper, Sunny Jiang

Institution: University of California, Irvine

Language: English

Topic: SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Sustainable cities and communities

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,842