Adverse events following the first dose of Covishield (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) vaccination among health workers in selected districts of central and western Nepal: A cross-sectional study.

INTRODUCTION: The study aimed at exploring the adverse events following immunization (AEFI) and their incidences among health workers in three different districts of central and western Nepal following the first dose of Covishield vaccine,. It also aimed at studying the association of AEFI with demographic and clinical characteristics of vaccinees, pre-vaccination anxiety level and prior history of COVID-19 infection (RT- PCR confirmed) status. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional study carried out via face-to-face or telephonic interview among 1006 health workers one week after receiving their first dose of the Covishield vaccine. Incidence of adverse events was calculated in percentage while Chi-square Test was used to check the association of AEFI with independent variables. Logistic regression was used to find out the adjusted odd's ratio at 95% CI. RESULTS: Incidence of AEFI was 79.8% with local and systemic AEFI being 68.0% and 59.7% respectively. Injection site tenderness was the commonest manifestation. Local and systemic symptoms resolved in less than one week among 96.8% and 98.7% vaccinees respectively. Females were more likely to develop AEFI than males (AOR = 1.7, 95% CI = 1.2-2.4). Vaccinees aged 45-59 years were 50% less likely to develop AEFI as compared to those aged less than 30 years (AOR 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3-0.8). Most of the vaccinees had not undergone RT-PCR testing for COVID-19 (59.8%). Those who were not tested for COVID-19 prior were 1.5 odds more likely to develop AEFI compared to those who were negative (AOR = 1.5, 95% CI = 1.1-2.1). CONCLUSION: More than two-third of the vaccinees developed one or more forms of adverse events, but most events were self-limiting. Females and young adults were more prone to develop AEFI.

Self-cosmetic care during the COVID-19 pandemic and its psychological impacts: Facts behind the closed doors.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in significant negative psychological impacts in our life. Not doing adequate cosmetic care of skin, hair, and nails might be one of the underexplored but preventable reasons for the same. AIMS: To identify the change in cosmetic care habits of female undergraduate medical students during the coronavirus disease pandemic and to identify its psychological impacts on them. METHODS: A total of 218 individuals participated in this online study. Data were collected using a preset pro forma as a Google questionnaire to fulfill the objectives. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 11.5 and presented as percentage, mean, SD, median, IQR in tables and graphs. RESULTS: Mean age of the participants was 21.56 ± 1.95 years. Maximum respondents (66.0%) are not taking cosmetic care of skin, hair, and nail during the pandemic as before. More than two-thirds (68.8%) are feeling bad, 31.2% are neutral, whereas none are feeling good because of this change. Second-year students and the participants from rural locations are taking least cosmetic care (p < 0.05). However, coronavirus disease infection and major life events in the family did not affect it. Nail care was prioritized by the maximum (64.2%). Of all participants who are not doing cosmetic care as before, a maximum (50.0%) had lost self-satisfaction followed by increased irritability (43.8%). CONCLUSIONS: A huge number of female medical students are not doing cosmetic care of their skin, hair, and nail during the coronavirus disease lockdown; they also perceive significant negative psychological impact because of this change.

COVID-19: a National Survey on perceived level of knowledge, attitude and practice among frontline healthcare Workers in Nepal.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to determine the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) regarding the COVID-19 among frontline healthcare workers (F-HCWs) working at different hospitals in Nepal and to identify the factors significantly associated with KAP. METHODS: We used a web-based survey, and a convenience sampling method was adopted to collect data from 603 F-HCWs working at different hospitals in Nepal during the first week of June 2020. A self-administered questionnaire was utilized to assess the KAP perceived by the F-HCWs. It was divided into 4-parts consisting of 30-items, demographic characteristics (10-items), knowledge (10-items), attitude (5-items), and practice (5-items). It consisted of both multiple-choice questions and Likert scale items questionnaire. RESULTS: Among the participants, 76% reported adequate knowledge, 54.7% reported positive attitude, and 78.9% reported appropriate practice. Statistically significant differences regarding the perceived level of knowledge among F-HCWs were observed among independent variables, including age, gender, level of education, marital status, profession, work experience, source of information, infection prevention and control (IPC) training, and online course(p < 0.05). Similarly, statistically significant differences regarding the attitude among F-HCWs were observed among independent variables, including age, gender, level of education, profession, and online course(p < 0.05). Moreover, only 2-independent variables, including the profession and online course, showed statistically significant differences with practice(p < 0.05). Pearson correlation analysis showed a significant association between knowledge, attitude and practice at the level of p = 0.01. The factors significantly associated with adequate knowledge were male gender, nurse and doctor, websites and IPC training. Similarly, factors significantly associated with positive attitude were online course related to COVID-19 only. Moreover, factors significantly associated with appropriate practice were master's degree or above and online course related to COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: F-HCWs reported adequate overall knowledge with a positive attitude and adopted the appropriate practice. The experienced F-HCWs with higher education and who received IPC training and online course regarding COVID-19 had better KAP. So, the stakeholders must arrange the educational programs and training for F-HCWs for better preparedness tackling with COVID-19.

Role of Female Community Health Volunteers for Prevention and Control of COVID-19 in Nepal

Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) are the pillars of community health programs in Nepal who play a pivotal role in implementing various community based preventive, promotive, and curative health programs. In the context of COVID 19 pandemic and possible outbreak in Nepal, the only way by which it can be stopped at the moment is by prevention. This paper presents the role of FCHVs for the prevention and control of COVID 19 in Nepal.