Side Effects Following Administration of the First Dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield Vaccine in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

In response to the raging COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh started its vaccine administration in early 2021; however, due to the rapid development and launch of the vaccines in the market, many people had concerns regarding the safety of these vaccines. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the side effects that were experienced by the Bangladeshi residents after receiving the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covishield vaccine (ChAdOx1nCoV-19). The study was conducted using both online and printed questionnaires and the data were analysed using SPSS. The results included the responses of 474 vaccine recipients from March–April 2021. Pain at the site of injection, fever, myalgia, fatigue and headache were the most commonly reported symptoms, and the overall side effects were found to be significantly more prevalent in the younger population (p ≤ 0.05). These findings were consistent with the results indicated by the clinical trial of ChAdOx1nCoV-19. Logistic regression analysis further revealed that compared to people aged 70 years or above, the incidence of reported side effects was significantly higher in people aged 18–30 years (odds ratio (OR) = 8.56), 31–40 years, (OR = 5.05), 41–50 years (OR = 4.08), 51–60 years (OR = 3.77) and 61–70 years (OR = 3.67). In addition, a significantly higher percentage of female participants suffered from post-vaccination side effects compared to males (OR = 1.51). It was concluded that the Covishield vaccine was well-tolerated among people of different age groups. Nevertheless, further long-term follow-up study with a larger sample size is warranted to establish the long-term safety of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Adverse Events Following COVID-19 Vaccination in Selected Apartments in Bangalore, India

“…Also, comorbidities such as diabetes and hypertension topped the list. Our findings coincide with previous studies [ 7 , 11 , 12 ].…”

“…A survey conducted at Bangladesh found that below 10% (8.5%) of the participants were diagnosed with COVID-19 post-vaccination. Our data thus coincides with the study [ 12 ].…”

“…This is similar to previous studies. Also, pain at the site of injection was the most commonly reported adverse event in clinical trials [ 12 , 18 - 20 ]. The most common systemic reactions were generalized weakness, fever, headache, chills, and dizziness after both first and second doses.…”

“…Previous systematic reviews and studies conducted mostly on healthcare workers and published reports on the active surveillance of spontaneous reports by AMCs pointed toward the fact that COVID-19 vaccines are relatively safe. The studies stressed the need for population-based surveillance and a long-term follow-up especially in vaccinated individuals with comorbidities [7,[9][10][11][12][13][14][15].…”

Reported Adverse Effects and Attitudes among Arab Populations Following COVID-19 Vaccination: A Large-Scale Multinational Study Implementing Machine Learning Tools in Predicting Post-Vaccination Adverse Effects Based on Predisposing Factors

“…This is not surprising, since it was well-known, even before the COVID-19 pandemic, that biological sex differences could influence the vaccine uptake, responses, and outcome [ 89 ]. Recent studies showed that the side effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech [ 87 , 90 , 91 ], AstraZeneca [ 90 , 91 , 92 ], Sinopharm [ 12 ], Sputnik V [ 11 ], SinoVac [ 91 , 93 ], Johnson & Johnson and Moderna [ 90 ] vaccines were significantly more frequent in females. With a view to reducing post-vaccination side effects in females and increasing immunogenicity in males, Ciarambino et al [ 94 ] recommended that the vaccine development should be sex-specific, and that sex-related variables should be examined in pre-clinical and clinical vaccine trials.…”