Clinical characteristics and respiratory care in hospitalized vaccinated SARS-CoV-2 patients

The main objective of the present study was to analyze both clinical characteristics and evolution during hospitalization of a cohort of patients admitted for COVID-19 pneumonia who were not vaccinated, or with a complete or incomplete vaccination schedule. This COVID-19 specialized single-center cohort study of 1888 COVID-19 patients hospitalized at the “Enfermera Isabel Zendal” Emergencies Hospital (HEEIZ), Madrid (Spain) was performed between July 1 and September 30, 2021. It compared the results of 1327 hospitalized unvaccinated patients to 209 hospitalized fully vaccinated and 352 hospitalized partially vaccinated patients. The four different COVID-19 vaccines authorized in Spain during the time-period studied were: BNT162b2 (Pfizer); ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AstraZeneca), mRNA-1273 (Moderna); Ad26.COV2.S (Janssen). Hospitalized patients’ median age was 41 years (IQR 33–50) for the unvaccinated and 61 years (IQR 53–67) for the fully vaccinated ones. The main comorbidities were obesity, hypertension and diabetes mellitus. 20% of unvaccinated patients (266) required noninvasive respiratory care, as did 14% (51) of partially and 14% (30) of fully vaccinated; 6% (78) of the unvaccinated patients also needed invasive respiratory care, as did 5% (16) of partially and 11 (5%) fully vaccinated. Fully vaccinated patients were 84% (95% CI: 82–86%) less likely to be admitted to hospital, and protection rose for those aged