Evaluation of Side Effects Associated with COVID-19 Vaccines in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Background: Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford-AstraZeneca are recently introduced vaccines to combat COVID-19 pandemic. During clinical trials, mild to moderate side effects have been associated with these vaccines. Thus, we aimed to evaluate short-term post-vaccination side effects. Methods: Cross-sectional, retrospective study using an online questionnaire was conducted among COVID-19 vaccines recipients in Saudi Arabia. General and demographic data were collected, and vaccine-associated side effects after receiving at least one dose of each vaccine were evaluated. Results: Our final sample consisted of 515 participants with a median age of 26 years. Most of the study participants were female (57%). Nearly 13% of the study subjects have reported previous infections with SARS-CoV-2. Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been received by 75% and 25% of the study participants, respectively. Side effects associated with COVID-19 vaccines have been reported by 60% of the study subjects, and most of them reported fatigue (90%), pain at the site of the injections (85%). Conclusion: Side effects that are reported post Oxford-AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines among our study participants are not different from those that were reported in the clinical trials, indicating safe profiles for both vaccines. Further studies are needed to evaluate the effectiveness of the current vaccines in protection against SARS-CoV-2 reinfections.

Side Effects of mRNA-Based and Viral Vector-Based COVID-19 Vaccines among German Healthcare Workers

“…Abu-Hammad et al, 2021 found that the mRNA-based vaccine was significantly associated with local side effects, while the viral vector-based vaccine was associated with systemic side effects among Jordanian healthcare workers [ 32 ]. On the contrary, Alhazmi et al, 2021 found no significant difference in terms of local side effects among vaccinated individuals in Saudi Arabia; however, the viral vector-based vaccine was still significantly associated with an increased risk of systemic side effects [ 33 ].…”

“…While the vast majority of governments rely on more than one vaccine in their mass-vaccination strategies, there is a lack of evidence on the comparative side effects of different COVID-19 vaccines [ 34 , 35 ]. The current evidence is limited by a series of constraints, including unequal sample size across the study groups, lack of normal distribution of demographic and medical risk factors across the study groups, and lack of attention to the onset of each side effect [ 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 36 ]. Vaccine selectivity can be defined as “the discriminatory attitudes towards certain types of vaccines based on their target contagion or manufacturing technology that yields heterogeneous acceptance levels of recommended vaccines”.…”

Side Effects of mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccine: Nationwide Phase IV Study among Healthcare Workers in Slovakia

“…To date, several independent (non-sponsored) phase IV studies on mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines have been published from various countries, e.g., Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Iraq, Italy, Jordan, Malta, Poland, Saudi Arabia, the UK, and the USA [13,[19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. The results of these phase IV studies generally agreed with the results of the phase III trials executed by the manufacturers and published by the regulators, i.e., the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [31,32].…”

Can Communication Strategies Combat COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy with Trade-Off between Public Service Messages and Public Skepticism? Experimental Evidence from Pakistan

“…There is no prior study documenting the interplay between health risks, safety recommendations, and media selection [ 3 , 16 ]. However, to our knowledge, this is the first study that identifies the most effective source and message attributes for scheming the COVID-19 vaccination awareness campaigns [ 11 , 26 , 27 ].…”

“…), and self-efficacy. This research initially recognizes the benefits, barriers, and threats of COVID-19 from the literature, then defines the cues to action, including disclosure to a persuasive message via media contents such as public service messages (a form of advertising), to promote willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine [ 11 , 26 , 27 ]. Recent studies underpinning the HBM suggest that the efficacious administration of COVID-19 relies on the effective dissemination of factual information by activating cognitive mechanisms [ 28 ].…”