Detection of Short-Term Side Effects of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 Vaccine: A Cross-Sectional Study in a War-Torn Country

PURPOSE: The chAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine is the first COVID-19 vaccine available in Yemen. Hence, this local-based study was used to identify the type and frequency of short-term side effects following 48 hours of the first shot of the vaccine. METHODS: A cross-section of vaccinated participants in Aden were surveyed by telephone. Descriptive statistics were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 500 participants were included through convenient sampling. 27% of them were health care providers. Nearly 70% of the respondent experienced side effects. The top three side effects reported were fever (n=276, 55.2%), myalgia (n=270, 54%) and fatigue (n=247, 49.4%). Generally, most participants stated that they experienced the side effects after the first 24 hours of vaccination. CONCLUSION: Side effects that participants experienced were not different from the literature, indicating a safe profile for the vaccine. Further studies are needed to identify the side effects after the second and third dose of the vaccine. In addition, more studies are required to assess the efficacy of the existing vaccines against new variants.