Surveys on Suspected Adverse Effects Related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 Vaccination and the Impact of Early Publication of Results / 医薬品情報学

ABSTRACT

Objective: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine was a specially approved pharmaceutical in Japan in February 2021. However, several people were concerned about its safety. Therefore, we conducted a survey on our hospital staff with suspected adverse effects related to COVID-19 vaccines and promptly published the results on our website. Methods: The current study included hospital staff who received the COVID-19 vaccine. A questionnaire survey on suspected adverse effects was conducted after each vaccination from the first to the fifth dose. Data on the survey results were promptly posted on the hospital’s website. The number of hits and time spent on the site were also evaluated. Then, we examined. the media (newspapers and television) that reported our findings and the content of their coverage. Results: There were no new findings regarding suspected adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccines. An article published on our website on June 18, 2021, received more than 9,000 page views with an average time spent of > 3 min. Four media outlets reported on our hospital’s articles from June to July 2021, when public interest in the first and second doses of the vaccine was high. Conclusion: The early release of the survey results has provided a source of information for people who want to obtain safety information regarding the adverse effects of the COVID-19 vaccine.