BACKGROUND The use of administrative and public health surveillance data has been key to follow the Omicron wave during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mexico is among the countries with the most registered deaths during the pandemic and few studies in the region have focused on the effect that the Omicron wave had on hospitalization and death among workers. OBJECTIVE To assess the protection of 7 different COVID-19 vaccine products against progression to severe illness, using administrative and surveillance data of private-sector workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 during the Omicron wave in Mexico from January 2 to March 5, 2022. METHODS We conducted a retrospective cohort evaluation using Respiratory-Disease Short-Term Disability Claims (RD-STDC) registered by the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS), linked to COVID-19 surveillance system records and the national COVID-19 vaccination registry. Among all workers who requested RD-STDC and tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, we identified those who developed illness progression (hospitalization or death) attributable to respiratory disease. Vaccinated workers were those who had received the second of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine series or a single dose of a one-dose product ≥14 days before a positive SARS-CoV-2 test result. We estimated risk ratios for disease progression by vaccination status using Poisson regression models adjusted for sex, age, past RD-STDC, self-reported comorbidities, income, state of residency, and weekly COVID-19 incidence (RRadj). RESULTS During January 2 to March 5, 2022, n=1,410,675 (7%) among 20.1 million private sector workers requested RD-STDC, of which 31.6% had a SARS-CoV-2 test and 445,404 (92.3%) tested positive. Of these workers, 38,676 (11.1%) were unvaccinated and 309,223 (88.9%) received a complete vaccination schedule ≥ 14 days before RD-STDC; 1,198 were hospitalized, and 187 died. Risk of both hospitalization and death were lower among vaccinated persons compared with unvaccinated persons; overall RRadj for hospitalization and death were 0.36 (95% CI 0.32–0.41) and 0.24 (0.17–0.33), respectively. By product, the RRadj for hospitalization was 0.27 (95% CI 0.22–0.33) for Pfizer BioNTech; 0.29 (95% CI 0.15–0.57) for Moderna; 0.32 (95% CI 0.25–0.41) for Sinovac; 0.39 (95% CI 0.34–0.46) for Astra Zeneca; 0.39 (95% CI 0.28–0.53) Sputnik; 0.41 (95% CI 0.24–0.7) for CanSino; and 0.53 (95% CI 0.39–0.72) for Janssen. The RRadj for death was 0.12 (95% CI 0.07–0.19) for Pfizer BioNTech; 0.15 (95% CI 0.06–0.38) for Sputnik; 0.29 (95% CI 0.16–0.53) for Sinovac; 0.30 (95% CI 0.20–0.44) for Astra Zeneca; 0.38 (95% CI 0.1–1.4) for CanSino; and 0.50 (95% CI 0.26–0.97) for Janssen. CONCLUSIONS COVID-19 vaccines were associated with a significant reduction in the risk for progression to severe illness during the Omicron wave in Mexico.

We examined respiratory disease short-term disability claims submitted to the Mexican Social Security Institute during 2020. A total of 1,631,587 claims were submitted by 19.1 million insured workers. Cumulative incidence (8.5%) was 3.6 times higher than that for January 2015‒December-2019. Workers in healthcare, social assistance, self-service, and retail stores were disproportionately affected.

Objetivo. Describir el comportamiento de la epidemia de SARS-CoV-2 entre los trabajadores afiliados al Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS). Material y métodos. Se analizaron las incapacidades temporales para el trabajo por enfermedades respiratorias (ITT-ER), las hospitalizaciones y defunciones asociadas durante el periodo del 1 marzo al 31 diciembre 2020. Se estimó la tasa de ataque (TA) por SARS-CoV-2, así como los riesgos relativos (RR) de ITT-ER, hos­pitalización y defunción. Resultados. De los trabajadores afiliados al IMSS, 8.8% (n=1 730 334) recibió al menos una ITT-ER. La TA fue mayor en mujeres y en ambos sexos fue menor en el grupo de >60 años. Los RR de hospitalización y defunción fueron mayores en hombres y aumentaron con la edad. Comparado con las ITT-ER de 2015-2019, Durango, Tamaulipas y Nuevo León tuvieron un RR mayor de ITT-ER que el resto del país. Conclusiones. La epidemia de SARS-CoV-2 tuvo repercusiones importantes en los trabajadores afiliados al IMSS; se observó un exceso de ITT-ER de 4.6 veces respecto a la frecuencia esperada y cerca de un millón de casos de SARS-CoV-2. Los datos sugieren que el sistema de ITT-ER puede ser utilizado como elemento adicional para la vigilancia epidemiológica de enfermedades emergentes.

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offi cially reported 1.8 million coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases and 326,612 all-cause excess deaths, representing a 45.1% excess of total expected deaths for the time period (1). Surveillance in Mexico is based on sentinel sampling capturing a systematic subset of COVID-19 cases, with limited access to widespread testing (2). Despite concern for health outcomes among healthcare workers, studies examining the effects of COVID-19 across different occupational groups are lacking. To describe the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic among privatesector workers, we analyzed respiratory disease short-term disability claims (RD-STDC) submitted during 2020 to the Mexican Social Security Institute (Spanish acronym IMSS) by 19.1 million workers insured by the IMSS.