Publication date: Feb 18, 2025
Postpandemic surveillance data on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infections may help inform future public health policies regarding severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) testing, vaccinations, or other COVID-19 measures. We estimate the total SARS-CoV-2 infections in Austria after the end of the pandemic from wastewater data and utilize these estimates to calculate the average national levels of SARS-CoV-2 infection protection and COVID-19 death protection. We estimated the total SARS-CoV-2 infections in Austria after the end of the pandemic (5 May 2023, per World Health Organization) up to May 2024 from wastewater data using a previously published model. These estimates were used in an agent-based model (ABM) to estimate average national levels of SARS-CoV-2 infection protection and COVID-19 death protection, based on waning immunity estimates of infections and vaccination in previous literature. We estimate approximately 3. 2 million infections between 6 May 2023 and 23 May 2024, with a total of 17. 8 million infections following 12 May 2020. The ABM estimates that the national average death protection was approximately 82% higher in May 2024 than before the pandemic. This represents a relative decrease of 8% since May 2023. It also shows that 95% of people in Austria were infected with SARS-CoV-2 at least once by May 2024. National infection protection remained relatively low after the onset of Omicron. These findings should be considered for public health decisions on SARS-CoV-2 testing practices and vaccine booster administrations.
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| Concepts | Keywords |
|---|---|
| Austria | COVID-19 |
| Coronavirus | immunization |
| Postpandemic | nationwide |
| Vaccination | SARS-CoV-2 |
| wastewater |
Semantics
| Type | Source | Name |
|---|---|---|
| disease | MESH | SARS-CoV-2 Infections |
| disease | MESH | infections |
| pathway | REACTOME | SARS-CoV-2 Infection |
| disease | MESH | death |
| disease | IDO | infection |
| disease | MESH | Infectious Diseases |
| disease | IDO | facility |
| disease | MESH | Emergency |
| pathway | REACTOME | Reproduction |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Isoxaflutole |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Coenzyme M |
| disease | MESH | reinfection |
| disease | IDO | susceptibility |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Ranitidine |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Stavudine |
| disease | MESH | uncertainty |
| disease | IDO | virulence |
| disease | IDO | contact tracing |
| disease | MESH | severe acute respiratory syndrome |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Trestolone |
| drug | DRUGBANK | Water |
| disease | IDO | blood |
| disease | MESH | syndrome |
| disease | MESH | healthcare associated infections |