Adverse Events Following the First Dose of Immunization of COVID-19 Vaccine

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the entire globe and the need for a vaccine is supreme. Since many vaccines along with Covishield have been granted emergency use authorization, the evaluation and monitoring of safety are crucial. Covishield was rolled out in Nepal on January 27, 2021. So through this study, we aim to identify the prevalence of Adverse Events Following Immunization in general with the first dose of Covishield vaccine, compare Adverse Events Following Immunization in prior COVID-19 positive cases and Adverse Events Following Immunization in co-morbid individuals. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study conducted in 440 sample from May 2021 till July 2021 in a provincial government hospital of western Nepal. Ethical approval was received from Ethical Review Board, Nepal Health Research Council (Registration no: 279/2021 P). Simple random sampling was used. Point estimate was done at 95% confidence interval and descriptive analysis was done to identify the prevalence of Adverse Events Following Immunization within one week after Covishield vaccination in the studied population. Results: 79.77% of the study population complaint at least one or more Adverse Events Following Immunization. Fever, myalgia, headache, pain at the injection site, arthralgia, chills, and fever are the most common Adverse Events Following Immunization. 42.73% of the study population self-medicated to manage Adverse Events Following Immunization, 7.89% took leave from work while 0.28% needed medical attention. No major Adverse Events Following Immunization relevance with prior-COVID history or co-morbidity was seen. Conclusions: Majority of the vaccinated participants had minor adverse effects on the first-day post-vaccination while most of the Adverse Events Following Immunization subsided within seven days. Keywords: Adverse effects; COVID-19 vaccines COVISHIELD; pharmacovigilance; side effects.