Is Covid Vaccine Hesitancy Unfounded? A Local Comparative Study on Short-Term Side Effects of Different Covid Vaccinations

Abstract

Introduction: Side Effects of Covid Vaccinations have been responsible for Vaccine hesitancy (VH), which is defined as the delay in acceptance or refusal of vaccines despite availability of vaccine services.

Aims & Objectives: To evaluate and compare the severity of common short term side effects of different types and dosages of vaccines in different age groups at a local setting and whether Covid vaccine hesitancy is unfounded.

Place and duration of study: The present study was conducted at Specialist Clinic Haroon Chowk Rawalpindi & Doctors Clinic Karachi, Pakistan between August and September 2021

Material & Methods: This cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted based on a structured close ended questionnaire designed using google forms after the immense literature search on the research question and provided to individuals aged 18 years and above who had either completed or partially completed their vaccination dosage at any center. SPSS version 24 (IBM, Armonk, New York, USA) was used for data analysis, P-value<0.05 was taken as significant.

Results: The survey was conducted on a total of 248 patients Out of 248, 150 (60.48%) were male & 98 (39.52%) were females. Majority 153(61.69%) were of age group 19-30 years, whereas 95 (38.31%) were aged between 31-40 years. 17 participants reported that they were allergic, 7 patients had asthma, 8 respondents mentioned that they were diabetic and hypertensive, the remaining participants did not report any comorbidities at all. Regarding vaccination status, 243 (97.98%) respondents confirmed that they completed the two-dose vaccination process. Short term adverse events were noted, including fever, severe swelling, myalgia, a change in taste, a headache, hypersensitivity, and medication-related symptoms.

Conclusion: Compared to COVID-19 vaccines created using inactivated virus, those based on messenger RNA were found to be significantly safer for patients. Widely ranging short term mild and manageable adverse effects were recorded. Covid vaccine hesitancy appears to be unfounded.