Efficacy and Short-Term Safety of COVID-19 Vaccines: A Cross-Sectional Study on Vaccinated People in the UAE

Abstract

Background: The emergence of COVID-19 has been a major challenge to public health and the world economy. During a wave of COVID-19, the usage of widespread vaccination procedures and broader coverage to the whole of humanity will be made possible if the general population has access. An intended effect of vaccination is to provide “herd immunity,” which protects those who have not been vaccinated along with those who have been. However, some concerns regarding the safety and efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines were raised. Aim: This study aims to provide evidence on the short-term safety and efficacy of four types of vaccines that are officially approved by the Ministry of Health in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). These include Sinopharm, Sputnik V, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca. Method: This study utilized a cross-sectional descriptive design. Data on the efficacy and short-term protection of COVID-19 vaccines on vaccinated citizens and residents (n = 764) of the UAE were collected between February and April 2021. Participants were conveniently approached using a Google Forms survey, where they responded to a semi-structured questionnaire pertaining to socio-demographic questions and in-depth questions related to COVID-19, including whether they suffer from any comorbidities, the most commonly encountered post-vaccination side effects, and the severity of their symptoms, using a 5-point Likert scale. Results were analyzed using SPSS version 24, calculations of p-values and descriptive statistics were used for data differentiation. Results: The majority of the participants (n = 612 or 94.4%) stated that they did not become reinfected after receiving two doses of COVID-19 vaccine. In addition, the incidence of being hospitalized after vaccination was negligible. In terms of adverse effects, the most common individually reported side effects, regardless of the vaccination type, included “pain at the site of injection”, followed by “general fatigue”, then “lethargy”. Moreover, most of these side effects occurred after the second dose of the vaccine, irrespective of the type of vaccine. Females were found to be more susceptible to the adversities of COVID-19 vaccination. The occurrence of side effects was not found to be related to the nationality/ethnicity of the vaccine recipient. Furthermore, none of the vaccines affected sleep pattern, since a significant number of respondents reported a regular sleep pattern after being vaccinated. The majority respondents who received two doses of vaccination (n = 585 or 76.6%) reported that they did not become infected post vaccination, regardless the type of vaccine received, whereas only (n = 11 or 1.9%) were reinfected with COVID-19 after 2–4 weeks. Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest that vaccines can offer short-term protection against COVID-19 reinfection. Moreover, both the first- and second-vaccination side effects were described as very mild to moderate, which indicates tolerability. These data may strengthen the public confidence in receiving vaccinations.

Evolution of Public Attitudes and Opinions Regarding COVID-19 Vaccination During the Vaccine Campaign in China: Year-Long Infodemiology Study of Weibo Posts

“…Symptoms including fever, running nose, and lack of appetite were reported less frequently, and more severe adverse effects were not reported at all. This is consistent with the findings that the side effects of the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine were predictable and nonserious in the United Arab Emirates [52,53], Thailand [54], and Bangladesh [55].…”

Side effects of COVID-19 vaccination in Pakistani population: A cross sectional study

“…Studies conducted in India and Bangladesh also reported mild post vaccination side effects 18,19 . Moreover, studies conducted in other regions of the world also reported mild side effects after vaccination, regardless of the type and manufacturer of the vaccine [20][21][22][23][24][25][26] .…”

“…Vaccines against COVID-19 have the potential to produce long-lasting immunity, especially when it comes to reducing the severity of the illness. Fully immunized people exhibit persistent high protection from severe COVID-19 that can reduce hospitalization from 23•5% to 14•3% 26,27 . Our study results show that These results are comparable to other studies which have been conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of vaccines in reducing the incidence of infection, need for hospitalization and ICU admission [28][29][30][31] .…”

Lessons Learned from the Pandemic in the UAE: Children COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy and Its Impact on the Choice of Distance versus Face-to-Face Learning Modalities: An In-Depth Analysis of a National Study

“…In addition, the lack of adequate safety data, potential future consequences, and vaccine efficacy were the main concerns regarding COVID-19 vaccines [20]. The findings of another study conducted in the UAE revealed that the public is not sufficiently informed about the efficacy or side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine [21]; thus, increasing the public's awareness will help parents make informed decisions regarding vaccinating their children and potentially increase vaccine acceptance. Furthermore, a study by Lazarus et al 2022 reported that parental willingness to vaccinate their children in many countries slightly increased by around 2% between 2021 and 2022 [22].…”