Adverse health events experienced by the recipients of COVID-19 vaccines and the associated factors in southwestern Saudi Arabia

Aims@#Studying the post-vaccination adverse health events is crucial to determine the confidence and acceptance of the public to the newly-developed COVID-19 vaccines. The present study aimed to investigate the prevalence rates of the adverse health events experienced by the recipients of COVID-19 vaccines in Saudi Arabia.@*Methodology and results@#A cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2021 using a google form of an online self-administered questionnaire sent via different social media platforms for recruiting participants from southwestern Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire was prepared by medical and public health professionals and then translated into Arabic, pilot-studied and validated. Among the 453 Saudi adults who participated in the study with at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, about (77.9%) were males aged 25.5 ± 10.6 years. Most of the participants were college students living in the Makkah region. Nearly 68.3% reported post-vaccination adverse events, such as injection site pain/swelling (91.9%), fatigue (67.9%), bone and muscle pain (65.2%) and flu-like symptoms (58%). The type of vaccine was significantly associated with the development of adverse events p=0.002 (OR of Pfizer-BioNTech versus AstraZeneca: 0.33, 95% CI: 0.18-0.61). Additionally, ageing of more than the 3rd decade, male gender and being married were significantly associated with lower rates of reporting post-vaccination adverse events. @*Conclusion, significance and impact of study@#The development of COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse health events had no significant associations with residence, education, occupation, BMI, chronic diseases or smoking. However, age, gender, marital state and vaccine type may be considered significant predictors for developing post-vaccination adverse reactions.

Seroconversión posterior a la aplicación de vacuna Pfizer anticovid-19 en personal de la salud / Seroconversión rates following covid-19 Pfizer vaccine application among health personnel

Introducción: la pandemia por COVID-19 constituyó un problema de salud que requirió la realización de esfuerzos sin precedentes para la fabricación de vacunas en tiempo récord. Dada la emergencia no se podían llevar a cabo los protocolos establecidos que componen la fármacovigilancia, razón por la cual es importante realizar estudios locales que contribuyan al conocimiento y vigilancia clínica y farmacológica. Objetivos: evaluar los niveles de anticuerpos desarrollados en quienes recibieron la vacuna Pfizer, determinar los efectos secundarios más frecuentes y describir la mortalidad por todas las causas a un año en este grupo. Métodos: estudio prospectivo, de corte transversal de una cohorte de 105 pacientes, se realizó estadística descriptiva en el análisis univariado y bivariado para los niveles de anticuerpos, se describe la correlación de la edad con los niveles de anticuerpos y la mortalidad cruda de los pacientes a 1 año. Resultados: la edad media de los 105 pacientes fue 36,45 años (DE 10,11), con tendencia al aumento de los niveles de anticuerpos en la segunda toma y descenso en la tercera; se encontró una correlación negativa significativa entre edad y niveles de anticuerpos en la segunda toma. Conclusiones: en los sujetos más jóvenes se presentaron mayores títulos de anticuerpos que disminuyeron con el tiempo, la variabilidad en la titulación puede depender de varios factores como edad, género, imnunosupresores y comorbilidades. Es necesaria la medición para realizar una vacunación periódica e individualizarla. La mortalidad a un año fue de 0%.

Introduction: the COVID-19 pandemic prompted unprecedented efforts to manufacture vaccines in record time. Given the emergency, to conduct the established pharmacovigilance protocols was not possible, thus, the importance of carrying out local studies which contribute to gain understanding and clinical and pharmacological surveillance. Objectives: to evaluate antibody levels developed in subjects who received the Pfizer vaccine; to determine the most frequent side effects; and describe all-cause 1-year mortality in this group. Methods: a prospective, cross-sectional study in a cohort of 105 patients. Descriptive statistics were conducted by univariate and bivariate analyses of antibody levels. The correlation between age and antibody levels and the crude 1-year mortality rate among patients is described. Results: mean age was 36.45 years (SD 10.11), with a tendency for antibody levels to increase with the second dose and decrease with the third dose. A significant negative correlation was found between age and antibody levels in the second dose. Conclusions: younger subjects had higher antibody titers, which decreased over time. The variability of titer estimates may depend on several factors such as, age, gender, immunosuppressive therapies and comorbidities. Measurements are essential for periodic and individualized vaccination. One-year mortality rate was 0%.

Survey data of COVID-19 vaccine side effects among Qassim University members

Background:Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) was initially reported as a culprit for many unexplained cases of pneumonia in Wuhan, China. Since then, COVID-19 vaccine is highly recommended as a protective measure of this pandemic. This study aimed to measure the safety profile of theCOVID-19 vaccine among Qassim University members.Methods:This is a cross-sectional observational study conducted among Qassim University members, Saudi Arabia. A pre-specified questionnaire was distributed among prospective members of the campus using an online survey. Participants who were vaccinated by either one or two doses were the subjects of this study. Consent was sought from the participants or next of kin and the data collection were lasted for over three months.Results:The 604 respondents were able to recruit (51.7% males versus 48.3% females). 55.6% of respondents were in the younger age group (age ?25 years). The most commonly received vaccine was Pfizer (67.3%) while the most common side effect was local pain at the site of injection (89.4%) and tiredness (76.7%). Females were significantly more being associated with having COVID-19 vaccine side effects, while complained about fever was significantly higher in the AstraZeneca vaccine (p<0.001).Conclusions:Our findings were consistent with literatures, our study finds local pain at the site of injection, tiredness, muscle pain, headache and fever as the most common side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. The side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine had a greater impact on female respondents than their male counterparts.

Primeiros casos de rejeição em transplante penetrante após vacina contra COVID-19 / First cases of penetrating corneal transplant rejection after COVID-19 vaccines

RESUMO Este artigo descreve dois casos de reação imunológica de rejeição de transplante penetrante após a aplicação de dois tipos de vacina contra a COVID-19 - CoronaVac (Sinopharm/Butantan) e MRNA BNT162&2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) - com intervalo de 1 e 10 dias, respectivamente. A rejeição se manifestou com hiperemia, edema corneano e embaçamento da visão, que responderam rapidamente ao uso de corticoide tópico e subconjuntival. Até onde sabemos, este é o primeiro relato de rejeição de transplante penetrante de córnea pós-vacina anti-COVID-19. Recomendamos, presentemente, como prevenção, colírio de prednisolona a 1% 4 dias antes e durante 2 semanas após receber qualquer tipo de vacina para a COVID-19.

ABSTRACT This paper describes two cases of allograft corneal transplant rejection after the application of two types of COVID-19 vaccines - Coronavac (Sinopharm/Butantan) and MRNA BNT162&2 (Pfizer-BioNTech) vaccines - with an interval of 1 to 10 days, respectively. The rejection manifested in the form of corneal edema, hyperemia and blurred vision, which responded rapidly to the use of topical and subconjunctival corticosteroid. As far as we know, this is the first published report of immunological rejection of penetrating corneal transplant after COVID-19 vaccination. As a preventative measure, we now recommend the use of 1% prednisolone eye drop 4 days before and during 2 weeks after having received any type of COVID-19 vaccine.