Common Side Effects of Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine: An Experience From Pakistan

Abstract

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) epidemic spread quickly. Vaccines are now being distributed to stop the infectious spread and halt fatalities. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first mRNA-based vaccine introduced to boost immunity against COVID-19; however, it could lead to various adverse reactions. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of Pfizer vaccine side effects among participants. MethodsThis was a multicenter cross-sectional study that was performed using a non-probability sampling method. The study period was about six months from March 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022. A total of 1000 participants who received two doses of the Pfizer vaccine met the inclusion criteria. Demographic details of participants, for example, gender, age, comorbidities, Pfizer vaccine with both doses along with booster dose, previous exposure to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection, and the incidence of any local and systemic side effects following the first and second doses of vaccine, were reported. ResultsThe study findings showed that out of 1000 participants, 644 (64.4%) were males and 356 (35.6%) were females; their mean age was 43.06±14.98 years. Among them, 280 (28.0%) had hypertension and 356 (35.6%) had diabetes. Following the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine, burning at the injection site and fever were the most commonly reported side effects in 704 (70.4%) and 700 (70.0%) participants, respectively. Following the second dose of the Pfizer vaccine, muscle pain was the most commonly reported side effect in 628 (62.8%) participants. ConclusionThis study concluded that the most frequent adverse effects of the Pfizer vaccine were burning at the injection site, fever, pain at the injection site, muscle pain, swelling at the injection site, and joint pain. Moreover, the first dose was associated with more side effects than the second dose.

Adverse events following administration of COVID-19 vaccine among health workers in Kwara State, North Central Nigeria

“…The Pfizer brand of the vaccine showed the highest frequency of people with swelling at the injection site, followed by the AstraZeneca brand with Johnson Johnson with the last frequency. This agrees with previous reports of Safi-Haider et al, (2023); Kant et al, (2021) which indicated more adverse events following the administration of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. Furthermore, this study observed that some adverse events were significantly dependent on gender, this agrees with the previous findings that showed females reporting more adverse events Safi-Haider et al, (2023).…”

“…This agrees with previous reports of Safi-Haider et al, (2023); Kant et al, (2021) which indicated more adverse events following the administration of Pfizer and AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines. Furthermore, this study observed that some adverse events were significantly dependent on gender, this agrees with the previous findings that showed females reporting more adverse events Safi-Haider et al, (2023). In this study, one (1) individual reported fainting after receiving the Moderna vaccine, whereas three (3) reported fainting after receiving the AstraZeneca vaccine, although few studies have shown that fainting is a rare adverse event following immunization (Alemayehu et al, 2022).…”

SARS-CoV-2 Vaccine Safety and Autoimmune Response

“…Pain at the injection site, fever, headache, fatigue, and muscle and joint pain were the common side effects. Intriguingly, females perceived more side effects compared with males, and subjects under sixty were more likely to experience side effects than the participants in other age groups [ 6 ]. When monitoring adverse events following immunization (AEFI) with four COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, and Novavax) across a four-dose schedule (primary doses 1, 2, and 3, and booster), the Moderna vaccinations were associated with higher proportions of AEFI compared with the others.…”