Evaluation of adverse effects with COVID-19 vaccination in Pakistan

Abstract

Objectives: Vaccinations work with different mechanisms to offer protection against disease; however, process of immunity building can cause symptoms. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the immediate side effects of COVID–19 vaccination in the Pakistani Population. Methods: This cross-sectional analytical study was conducted at Foundation University College of Dentistry, Islamabad from February to April 2021. 0.5 mL per dose of the Covid-19 vaccine was administered to the candidates. These 205 candidates receiving vaccination were then interviewed investigating the adverse effects of the vaccine. Post-vaccination side effects were compared among categorical groups using the Chi-Square test, whereas post-vaccination side effects were compared with age using independent samples T-test. A p-value of ≤0.05 was statistically significant. Results: Among post-vaccination side effects, fever was reported by 69 participants, while 56 of 205 reported soreness, redness, and swelling at the injection site. It was reported by 42/205 participants to have felt chills and rigor, whereas gastrointestinal disturbance and flu-like symptoms were reported in 55/205 and 28/205 participants, respectively. Younger participants were more likely to develop gastrointestinal disturbance and flu-like symptoms following vaccination as compared to older participants. Conclusion: Malaise, headache, and fever were observed to be the most common side effects of the vaccine, moreover there was a linear relationship between manifestations of adverse effects and history of comorbidities. doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.7.4522 How to cite this:Abbas S, Abbas B, Amir S, Wajahat M. Evaluation of adverse effects with COVID-19 vaccination in Pakistan. Pak J Med Sci. 2021;37(7):---------.   doi: https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.37.7.4522 This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.