Publication date: Oct 09, 2024

Before SARS-CoV-2 vaccination availability, medical center employees were at high risk of COVID-19. However, risk factors for SARS-CoV-2 infection in medical center employees, both healthcare and non-healthcare workers, are poorly understood. From September-December 2020, free IgG antibody testing was offered to all employees at a large urban medical center. Participants were asked to complete a questionnaire on work and non-work related risk factors for COVID-19 infection. SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was found in 4. 7%. Seropositivity was associated with close contact with COVID-19 cases with or without the use of adequate personal protective equipment (PPE), (OR 3. 1 [95% CI 1. 4-6. 9] and OR 4. 7 [95% CI 2. 0-11. 0] respectively), never wearing a mask outside of work (OR 10. 1 [95% CI 1. 9-57]), and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander race (OR 6. 3 95% CI (1. 6-25)]. Among workers in a large urban medical center, SARS-CoV-2 seropositivity was associated with work-related COVID-19 close contacts and low mask use outside of work, suggesting that non-workplace close contacts are also relevant routes of COVID-19 spread among healthcare workers.

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