ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Since the advent of global COVID-19 vaccination, several studies reported cases of encephalitis with its various subtypes following COVID-19 vaccinations. In this regard, we conducted a systematic review to investigate and characterize the clinical settings of these reported cases to aid in physician awareness and proper care provision. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus and manually searched Google Scholar. Studies published until October 2022 were included. Demographic data, clinical features, vaccine data, treatment lines, and outcomes were extracted. RESULTS: A total of 65 patients from 52 studies were included. The mean age of patients was 46.82 ± 19.25 years, 36 cases (55.4%) were males. AstraZeneca was the most-reported vaccine associated with encephalitis (38.5%) followed by Pfizer (33.8%), Moderna (16.9%), and others. Moat encephalitis cases occurred after the first dose of vaccination in 41/65 (66.1%). The mean time between vaccination and symptom onset was 9.97 ± 7.16 days. Corticosteroids (86.2 %) and immunosuppressants (81.5 %) were the most used lines of treatment. The majority of affected individuals experienced a full recovery. CONCLUSION: Our study summarizes the current evidence of reported post-vaccination encephalitis, regarding clinical presentation, symptoms onset, management, outcomes, and comorbid conditions; however, it fails to either acknowledge the incidence of occurrence or establish a causal relationship between various COVID-19 vaccines and encephalitis.
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to assess the perception of COVID-19 risk and the adherence to protective measures among medical students after vaccination. We conducted a cross-sectional survey on a convenience sample of students from all the 18 governmental medical schools in Egypt. A total of 2273 students participated in the online self-administered questionnaire. Around 8 in 10 (83.2%) students were fully vaccinated, of which 17.9% received the booster dose. Only 36.9% believed that COVID-19 is serious on the individual level. The majority (73.9%) strongly or slightly agreed they may become infected after vaccination if they do not follow the preventive measures. We observed a slow decline in the perceived risk of vulnerability and susceptibility to COVID-19 infection among students in parallel to a growing perception of self-efficacy and controllability. Less than one-third (28.9%) of students showed good adherence to protective measures. However, this was lower than the previously reported adherence in the same population before vaccination. Female students, those in the first academic year, those who did not contract COVID-19 infection before, and those with a higher perception of susceptibility and perceived controllability were more likely to perform better at protective measures.