Reported Adverse Events (Side Effects) Following COVID-19 Vaccination Among University Students and Staff: A Case of Islamic University in Uganda

Abstract

Background: Since its outbreak, COVID-19 has brought several disastrous effects on the healthcare and economic systems of different countries globally. There is still no approved curative medicine for COVID-19; thus, the disease can only be controlled through preventive measures, especially vaccination through herd immunity. However, this is still far from being realized, as vaccination is still being affected by hesitancy and resistance from people, mainly due to the fears of side effects and other adverse events following vaccination. Therefore, understanding the incidence and associated factors, nature, and management of these adverse events is paramount for ensuring public confidence in vaccination programmes. The current study therefore aimed at documenting reported adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination among students and staff at the Islamic university in Uganda.
Methodology: This was a cross-sectional study design that was prospective in nature that recruited staff and students from Islamic University in Uganda that received COVID-19 vaccination between February and June 2022. Data was collected using Google Forms; participants were reached through the institutional ERP, emails, text messages and WhatsApp (social media). Data analysis was done using SPSS version 20.
Results: The study recruited 225 participants; 64.0% were female, and the median age range was between 26 and 30 years. Most of the respondents, 76.4%, reported receiving at least one side effect. More than 73% did not report any comorbidity (chronic conditions). 70.5% had received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, and AstraZeneca was the most received brand at 51.8%. Most participants reported minor side effects, including pain at the injection site (44.4%). fever, chills, headache, and dizziness at 18.1%, and muscle pains and backpains at 14.6%. Only 1.2% reported vaccine sexual reproductive health.
Conclusions and Recommendation: The study confirms that COVID-19 vaccines are safe, as most of the reported side effects were minor with no life-threatening events. More sensitization of the community about the safety of vaccines is encouraged. Ongoing pharmacovigilance surveys for COVID-19 vaccines are recommended to detect possible long-term side effects.