Assessment of the immediate side effects of COVID-19 vaccination among the people of Pakistan

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc throughout the world, with 150 million cases to date and over 3 million lives claimed worldwide Objectives: To assess the immediate side effects of Covid-19 vaccination among the people of Pakistan Study Design: Randomized, descriptive cross-sectional study Methodology: Present study was carried out using an online questionnaire by enrolling 17040 subjects. Inclusion/Exclusion criteria All citizens of Pakistan over the age of 12, who were eligible for the COVID-19 vaccination were enrolled. Statistical analysis: Data was analyzed by SPSS software, version 25 in terms of frequencies and percentages. Results: In present study, results showed that 76% subjects were vaccinated. Among them 64% received Sinopharm, 30% Sinovac, 0.7% Pfizer, 0.5% Astrazeneca, 2.8% Moderna, 0.8% Cansino, 0.3% PakVac and 0.1% Sputnik V. Most participants (66%) suffered no symptoms post vaccination. Only 15% developed fever, 7% dizziness, 5% vomiting, 4% pain at injection site, 2% headache and 1% fatigue. After vaccination, 1% had a reinfection and 99% so far have not caught Covid-19. Among all participants, 87% found the vaccine safe, 7% were neutral and 5% found it unsafe. Conclusion: We concluded that most Pakistanis have received the Chinese vaccine i.e. Sinopharm. Majority individuals have experienced either no to mild or few moderate type of adverse effects following immunization irrespective of the age and gender that can be easily managed at home.