Side effects following COVID-19 vaccination: A cross-sectional survey with age-related outcomes in Saudi Arabia

Side effects represent a major determinant of vaccination acceptance. With the newly developed COVID-19 vaccines, there is a growing need for more investigations on vaccination safety, in real practice. With this growing need, the current study investigated the side effects experienced during days 1, 2, and 3 after the first dose of the Oxford—AstraZeneca vaccine among vaccine recipients at King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAAUH), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A particular emphasis was how age (≤50-year-old versus >50-year-old) affects the frequency and the severity of the side effects. A cross-sectional study was performed using a telephone-based survey. The study involved individuals who received the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from February 28 - March 12, 2021, at KAAUH. A total of 528 vaccine recipients were involved, of whom 77.5% were ≤50 years old. The common side effects were myalgia, headache, and fever. Adults aged ≤50 years old showed a higher incidence and intensity of reactions than the >50-year-old group. Areas, where significant differences have been, found included myalgia, headache, fever palpitation, sore throat, and gastrointestinal symptoms (p-value is less than 0.05 for all). The COVID-19 vaccine was safe and well-tolerated. The ≤50-year-old group was more prone to side effects compared to the >50-year-old group. Further studies are needed to more establish such an observation.