Prevalence of common adverse events experienced following COVID‐19 vaccination and its associated factors in Ghana: Cross‐sectional study design
Date
2023
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Health Science Reports
Abstract
Background and Aims: The novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus
2 (SARS‐CoV‐2) (COVID‐19) pandemic devasted the general life of people and
various human activities across the globe, and Ghana is of no exception. This led to
development of vaccines within record time to combat morbidity and mortality
associated with the virus. In Ghana, COVID‐19 vaccines were introduced in addition
to existing COVID‐19 protocols. However, the vaccines have adverse events among
those who received them. In this study, we determined the prevalence of some
common adverse events of the COVID‐19 vaccines and its associated socio demographic factors in Ghana.
Methods: An online snowball cross‐sectional survey was conducted between April
and June 2021 among 240 people who had taken at least one dose of any of the
COVID‐19 vaccines approved in Ghana. The penalized binary logistic regression
model was used to assess the factors associated with experience of at least one
adverse event and the experience of number of adverse events using Stata
version 16.
Results: Among the 240 participants, 88.2% had experienced at least one adverse
event. The most common adverse event after the first dose was pain at injection site
(65.8%), headache (57.5%), tiredness (55.8%), fever (51.7%), chills (39.6%), and
muscle pains (38.3%). Experience of adverse events was 16 times higher among
those who took their vaccines in Ghana (adjusted odd ratio [AOR]: 16.2, 95%
confidence interval [CI]: 1.98–132.56, p = 0.009), 94% less among those who took
AstraZeneca (India) compared to AstraZeneca (Oxford) (AOR: 0.06, 95% CI:
0.01–0.37, p = 0.002) and 86% less among 40–49 years compared with less than
30 years old (AOR: 0.14, 95% CI: 0.03–0.58, p = 0.007). Conclusion: Pain at the injection site, headache, tiredness, fever, chills, and muscle
pains were the most frequently reported adverse events. The study identified
country of vaccination, country of origin of AstraZeneca vaccine and age to be
associated with adverse events of vaccination.
Description
Research Article