COVID-19 Vaccine: Side Effects After the First Dose of the Oxford AstraZeneca Vaccine Among Health Professionals in Low-Income Country: Ethiopia

PURPOSE: The Oxford–AstraZeneca is one of COVID-19 vaccine which is expected to be mass-produced and plays a critical role in controlling the pandemic that the globe faced. Ethiopia launched the AstraZeneca vaccination and planned to vaccinate 20% of the population by the end of 2021. Health care professionals are one of the eligible groups of the community to receive the vaccine with priority. Although individuals are advised to take the vaccine to protect themselves and the people around them from COVID-19 infection, many are doubtful about the consequences of the vaccine. So, this study assessed the immediate symptoms associated with taking the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. METHODS: This online study was conducted from April 15 to 30, 2021 at a national level across health care providers who took their first dose of Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine in Ethiopia. RESULTS: There were 672 study participants engaged in this study and around 75.8% of health care providers who took the vaccine had injection site symptoms like pain (65.48%) and tenderness (57.89%). Most of them (60%) developed their injection site symptom within 12 hours after vaccination and the symptoms lasted for about 24–72 hours on most (63.53%) of the participants. Mild symptoms were identified among 70.98% of the study participants; tiredness and headache were the most reported symptoms with 52.08% and 50.15%, respectively. Only 6.1% of participants reported severe symptoms. CONCLUSION: As like that of other vaccines, the Oxford–AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine has some adverse effects and most side effects peaked within the first 24 hours following vaccination and usually lasted 1–3 days. Severe symptoms were uncommon, but they were found to be a major reason why vaccine recipients did not recommend it to others and did not plan to take their second dose. After receiving the COVID-19 vaccination, recipients should be advised about potential vaccine symptoms, how to handle them, and when and where to seek additional guidance if necessary.