Determinants of associated events following AZD1222 (Covishield) vaccination in a high-risk population in Nepal

• Published in: BMC infectious diseases 2022-05, Vol.22 (1), p.422-422, Article 422
• Main Authors: Poudel, Kapil Madi, Shah, Neha, Prakash, Manab, Deo, Santosh Kumar, Bhandari, Sunita, Poudel, Tika Ram
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acetaminophen; Adolescent; Adult; Adverse event; Adverse events; Care and treatment; ChAdOx1 nCoV-19; Chi-square test; Comorbidity; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 vaccines; Covishield; Cross-Sectional Studies; Demographic variables; Diagnosis; Disease transmission; Economic impact; Female; Humans; Immunization; Infectious diseases; Influenza Vaccines; Influenza, Human - epidemiology; Nepal - epidemiology; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Pain; Pandemics; Paracetamol; Prevention; Safety; Socio-demographic characteristics; Sociodemographics; Vaccination; Vaccination - adverse effects; Vaccines; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2334; 1471-2334
• DOI: 10.1186/s12879-022-07406-2

Vaccination is the most effective method to prevent the spread of infectious diseases and helps reduce mortality rate and economic costs associated with the pandemic. Despite these advantages, misinformation on vaccine safety and efficacy can lead to increased hesitation towards vaccination. This study reports the incidence of adverse events following Covishield vaccination, their associated factors, medication used for their management, and attitudes about vaccine safety. A cross-sectional study was conducted from the sample of Covishield-vaccinated individuals from a secondary hospital, two primary health centres, and 36 health posts in eastern Nepal. Individuals (n = 602) were randomly sampled from a population (n = 1013) who had received the first dose of Covishield, namely frontline workers and other high-risk populations. The second-round follow-up had 516 participants. Association of incidence and severity of post-vaccination events with socio-demographic variables, comorbidity status, and medication use were estimated. Among the 79.9% of participants who reported adverse events after receiving the first dose, two-thirds of complaints were mild (67.4%, 95% CI 63.2-71.6) with the most common complaint being pain at the injection site (86.5%). Paracetamol or its combination with NSAIDs were used in the majority of cases (95.2%). After the second dose, only 31.2% (95% CI 27.2-35.2) reported adverse events, the overwhelming majority of which were mild (95.7%) and required a lower frequency of medication (7.5% vs. 26.0%). Adverse event following immunization were significantly associated with being 18-30 years old (χ  = 16.9, df = 3, p