The Impact of COVID-19 Vaccine on Rate of Hospitalization and Outcome of COVID- 19 Infection in a Single Center in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia

Background: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is an emerging and quickly disseminating disease that causes deleterious complications. Vaccines have the potential to improve population immunity and avoid serious disease and deaths.Methodology: A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 331 hospitalized patients with Covid 19 infections between April 2021 and July 2021 at King Fahad University Hospital. Data was collected from the medical records stored in the electronic health system of the hospital.Results: 27.7% of the participants required ICU admission, and 10.5% required mechanical ventilation. The mortality rate was around 7.23% of the infected cases. Two thirds of the study participants (64.05%) did not receive any vaccine, and it can be noted that only 16.8% had received 2 doses. The results suggest that the status of receiving a vaccine has significantly influenced the length of hospital stay, decreasing it by 19.7%. In addition, the date of receiving the vaccine was statistically significant in decreasing the incidence of ICU admission, as those who have received a vaccine for longer than 14 days needed ICU admission 82% less compared with their counterparts. The type of vaccine did not impact on any of the reported outcomes in the form of hospitalization rate, ICU admission and death.Conclusion: The majority of the study participants didn’t receive any vaccines before their admission with COVID 19, which in turn prolonged their hospital stay. This necessitates that the public require more awareness regarding the importance of receiving the vaccine.