A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study Assessing Self-Reported Adverse Events following Immunization (AEFI) of the COVID-19 Vaccine in Bangladesh.
Category:- Journal; Year:- 2021
Discipline:- Pharmacy Discipline
School:- Life Science School
Abstract
The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield) was the first to
be introduced in Bangladesh to fight the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic. As
this vaccine had shown some side-effects in its clinical trial, we aimed to
conduct a study assessing short-term adverse events following immunization
(AEFIs) in Bangladesh. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted on social
and electronic media platforms by delivering an online questionnaire among
people who had taken at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. The collected
data were then analysed to evaluate various parameters related to the AEFIs of
the respondents. Results: A total of 626 responses were collected. Of these,
623 were selected based on complete answers and used for the analysis. Most of
the respondents were between 30-60 years of age, and 40.4% were female. We
found that a total of 8.5% of the total respondents had been infected with the
SARS-CoV-2 virus. Our survey revealed that out of 623 volunteers, 317 reported
various side-effects after taking the vaccine, which is about 50.88% of the
total participants. The majority of participants (37.07%, 231/623) reported
swelling and pain at the injection site and fever (25.84%, 162/623); these were
some of the common localized and generalized symptoms after the COVID-19
vaccine administration. Conclusion: The side-effects reported after receiving
the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield) are similar to those reported in
clinical trials, demonstrating that the vaccines have a safe therapeutic
window. Moreover, further research is needed to determine the efficacy of
existing vaccines in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections or after-infection
hospitalization.