Adverse events following immunization associated with the ChAdOx1nCoV-19 and BBV152 vaccine - a cross-sectional study

Abstract

COVID-19, an infectious disease, has become a leading cause of death in many people. The rapid emergence of the pandemic prompted the development of a vaccine to mitigate the disease's harmful consequences. Vaccination is the only effective way to prevent infection from spreading and build immunity to the virus. However, developing adverse effects has become a major problem for vaccine reluctance. Accordingly, the interest has been shifted towards identifying the adverse effects developed following immunization. The current study objective is to assess and compare the intensity of adverse effects following 1st and 2nd dose of COVID-19 vaccination and the medication administered to relieve the symptoms associated with vaccination. A cross-sectional study was performed in a community over six months. A total of 836 participants were involved in the study. All the data regarding the vaccination were collected through a specially designed questionnaire form and analyzed in all the participants within the study group. According to the study, at least 1 AEFI was developed in about 90% of the study population. The most common systemic and local effect developed in the study population was fever (59.42%) and pain at the injection site (69.82%), respectively. With both vaccines (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BBV152), the incidence and severity of AEFIs were lower after the second dose than after the first dose, and most of the symptoms associated with vaccination were alleviated by taking home remedies and symptomatic treatment. The adverse effects reported after receiving the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BBV152 vaccines are typical of most vaccines, and the majority of them were tolerated, and most subsided in less than 24 hours.