Adverse events following immunization with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BBIBP-CorV vaccine: A comparative study among healthcare professionals of Nepal

BACKGROUND: Adverse events following immunization (AEFI) against SARS-CoV-2 are common as reported by clinical trials and contemporary evidence. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the local and systemic adverse events following vaccination with ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BBIBP-CorV among the healthcare professionals (HCPs) of Nepal. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 606 vaccinated HCPs of Kathmandu, Nepal. Data was collected from June 15 to 30, 2021 using a self-administered online survey tool. Multiple binary logistic regression models were used to predict the adverse events according to the vaccine types and doses after adjusting for age, sex, comorbidity and previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. RESULTS: The mean (SD) age of the participants was 35.6 (13.2) years and 52% of them were female. Almost 59% of participants were vaccinated with two doses and around 54% of total of them took the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine. At least one local and systemic adverse event was reported by 54% and 62% of participants after the first dose and 37% and 49% after the second dose of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and by 37% and 43% after the first dose and 42% and 36% after the second dose of BBIBP-CorV vaccine respectively. Injection site pain, swelling and tenderness at the injection site were the most frequently reported local AEFI while, fatigue, headache, fever and myalgia were the most frequently reported systemic AEFI. The logistic model demonstrated that the risk of both local and systemic adverse events was higher among the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine recipients compared to the BBIBP-CorV vaccine. Almost 10% of individuals reported a post-vaccination SARS-CoV-2 infection and most of them occurred after taking the first dose of vaccine. CONCLUSIONS: Recipients of both the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 and BBIBP-CorV vaccine among the HCPs of Nepal reported only mild and constitutional symptoms including injection site pain and tenderness, headache, fever, fatigue, etc. after vaccination.