Cohort study to measure COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among health workers in Albania

In partnership with World Health Organization-Europe branch, three BCH Global Health faculty provided technical assistance in Albania to WHO and the Albanian Institute of Public Health (IPH), an agency of the Ministry of Health, to launch the "Cohort study to measure COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness among health workers in Albania" (COVEAL). This study provided essential information on the real-world effectiveness of newly developed COVID-19 vaccines in curbing the pandemic by targeting occupationally at-risk healthcare workers. The data collected also provided a more complete epidemiologic picture of the pandemic in Albania, as well as providing some insight into predictors of both vaccination and infection in this high risk group.

The BCH Global Health Program worked closely with both the World Health Organization-Europe branch and the Albanian Institute of Public Health (IPH) on various aspects of the COVEAL study, including protocol development, logistics, and technical advising. In addition, an organizational feedback system was created using IPH data analysts to monitor data on a daily basis and provide real-time feedback to data collectors, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the data collected.