Evaluation of Side Effects Post-COVID-19 Vaccination in Healthcare Professionals: Hospital Based Cross-Sectional Study

Öz

Aim: Vaccination is the most effective method to prevent, combat and control the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination preferences of healthcare workers employed at a training and research hospital providing tertiaty healthcare services and the side effects that developed after vaccination Material and Method: This cross-sectional study was conducted at XXX Hospital from September to December 2022. Healthcare workers employed at the hospital were asked twelve questions about sociodemographic, medical history, COVID-19 vaccinations, and side effects. SPSS 23.0 software was used for the analyses. Results: A total of 405 healthcare workers took part in the study. Most of them were female (58.8%) and around 34 years old. Five people had not received any vaccinations. The CoronaVac vaccine was the most commonly administered in the first dose (82.8%) and the Biontech vaccine in the fourth (91%). The most prevalent local side effect was pain at the injection site (64.3%), while the least prevalent was itching (3.1%). The most prevalent systemic adverse effects were fatigue (24.5%) and muscle pain (23.6%). 86.7% of participants had side effects that disappeared within the first three days. The six participants who reported experiencing side effects lasting longer than one month after receiving the vaccine described these as fatigue, shortness of breath and menstrual irregularities. Women experienced local side effects more often than men (p=0.003). Conclusion: In this study, it was observed that the side effects experienced by participants were similar to general vaccine side effects, mild and self-limiting. The absence of serious systemic side effects, along with current knowledge about COVID-19 vaccines and the results obtained from our study, indicates that the vaccines can be used safely. However, in recent times, when vaccine hesitancy and scepticism have increased, there is a need for studies examining long-term effects and for increased vaccine awareness programs. 

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Adverse effect
• COVID-19 infection
• COVID-19 vaccine
• Healthcare worker
• Post-marketing surveillance
• SARS-CoV-2
• Vaccine safety

Destekleyen Kurum

No

Etik Beyan

Ethics Commitee Approval: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Ankara City Hospital between 26 September 2022 and 26 December 2022. The study commenced after receiving approval from the Ethics Committee of Ankara City Hospital, on 7 September 2022, under reference number E1/2877/2022. This study was conducted according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki.

Sağlık Çalışanlarında COVID-19 Aşısı Sonrası Görülen Yan Etkilerin Değerlendirilmesi: Hastane Tabanlı Kesitsel Çalışma

Öz

Giriş ve Amaç: COVID-19 pandemisinin kontrol altına alınmasında tam olarak etkili bir antiviral tedavi bulunamamış olması aşılamayı ön plana çıkartmıştır. Bu çalışmada, hastanemiz sağlık çalışanlarının COVID-19 aşı tercihleri ve aşı sonrası gelişen yan etkilerin araştırılması amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Kesitsel tipte olan bu araştırma Ankara Bilkent Şehir Hastanesinde 26.09.2022-26.12.2022 tarihleri arasında, hastanede görev yapan sağlık çalışanlarına sosyodemogafik, mesleki veriler, sağlık geçmişleri, COVID-19 aşıları ve yan etkileriyle ilgili 12 adet soru yöneltilmiştir. Analizlerde SPSS 23.0 paket programı kullanılmıştır. Bulgular: Çalışmamıza toplamda 405 sağlık çalışanı dahil edilmiştir. Kişilerin %58.8’i (n=238) kadın ve genel yaş ortalaması 33.89±7.99 yıldır. Beş kişinin(%1,2) hiç aşı yaptırmadığı saptandı. 1. doz aşılamada %82,8 (n=331) ile en fazla CoronaVac aşısı uygulanmışken, 4. doz aşılamada ise %91 (n=172) ile en fazla Biontech(Comirnaty) aşısı uygulandığı görüldü. COVID-19 aşılamaları sonrası en sık lokal yan etki aşı yerinde ağrı olup görülme oranı %64,3’tür, en az görülen lokal yan etki ise %3,1 ile aşı yerinde kaşıntıdır. COVID-19 aşılamaları sonrası en sık sistemik yan etkiler yorgunluk(%24,5) ve kas ağrısı(%23,6) olmuştur. İlk 3 günde yan etkileri kaybolan kişiler toplam katılımcıların %86,7 sini oluşturmaktadır. COVID-19 aşıları sonrası 1 aydan uzun yan etki yaşadıklarını beyan eden 6 katılımcıdaki şikayetler yorgunluk, nefes darlığı ve adet düzensizliğidir. Kadınlarda lokal yan etki varlığının erkeklerden daha fazla olduğu görülmüştür(p=0,003). Sonuç: COVID-19 aşıları sonrası yan etkilerin incelendiği bu çalışmada katılımcılarda görülen yan etkilerin genel aşı yan etkilerine benzer, hafif düzeyde ve kısa sürede kendini sınırlayan etkiler olduğu görülmektedir. Ciddi sistemik yan etkilerin olmaması, COVID-19 aşılarıyla ilgili mevcut bilgiler ve çalışmamızdan elde ettiğimiz sonuçlarla aşıların güvenle kullanılabileceği görülmektedir. Ancak, aşı karşıtlığı ve şüphelerinin arttığı son dönemlerde uzun dönem etkilerini inceleyen çalışmalar ve aşı farkındalık programlarının artılması gereklidir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Yan etki
• COVID-19 enfeksiyonu
• COVID-19 aşısı
• Sağlık çalışanı
• Pazarlama sonrası izleme
• SARS-CoV-2
• Aşı güvenliği

Kaynakça

1. Şanlıdağ İşbilen G, Uysal AA, Yiğit S, et al. Do patients infected with human coronavirus before the COVID-19 pandemic have less risk of being infected with COVID-19? Turk J Med Sci. 2024;54(4):761-765.
2. World Health Organization. WHO COVID-19 dashboard. World Health Organization; 2025. Available from: https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/cases. Accessed February 14, 2025.
3. Zhang Y, Zhao Y, Liang H, et al. Innovation-driven trend shaping COVID-19 vaccine development in China. Front Med. 2023;17(6):1096-1116.
4. Giray BG, Açık GG. COVID-19 vaccination behavior in healthcare professionals with at least 2 doses of COVID-19 vaccination after SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant. Aksaray Univ Tip Bilim Derg. 2023;4(2):11–16.
5. Siddiqui A, Priya, Adnan A, et al. COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in conflict zones: a review of current literature. Front Public Health. 2022;10:1006271.
6. Chakraborty A, Kabir KMA. Enhancing vaccination strategies for epidemic control through effective lockdown measures. Heliyon. 2024;10(11):e32308.
7. Monadhel H, Abbas A, Mohammed A. COVID-19 vaccinations and their side effects: a scoping systematic review. F1000Res. 2024;12:604.
8. Fortner A, Schumacher D. First COVID-19 vaccines receiving the US FDA and EMA emergency use authorization. Discoveries (Craiova). 2021;9(1):e122.

9. Whitaker HJ, Tsang RSM, Byford R, et al. Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness and immune response amongst individuals in clinical risk groups. J Infect. 2022;84(5):675-683.
10. Kalayci BN, Karahan D. Evaluation of local and systemic side effects of Turkovac vaccine in adults. Turk J Med Sci. 2023;53(4):934-940.
11. World Health Organization. COVID-19 - global situation. World Health Organization; 2025. Available from: https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-outbreak-news/item/2025-DON572.
12. Dagovetz M, Momchilov K, Blank L, et al. Global COVID-19 vaccination challenges: inequity of access and vaccine hesitancy. J Med Surg Public Health. 2025;6:100197.
13. Sisay MM, Montesinos-Guevara C, Osman AK, et al. COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring studies in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs): a systematic review of study designs and methods. Vaccines (Basel). 2023;11(6):1035.
14. Begum T, Efstathiou N, Bailey C, et al. Cultural and social attitudes towards COVID-19 vaccination and factors associated with vaccine acceptance in adults across the globe: a systematic review. Vaccine. 2024;42(22):125993.
15. Van den Ouweland F, Charpentier N, Türeci Ö, et al. Safety and reactogenicity of the BNT162b2 COVID-19 vaccine: development, post-marketing surveillance, and real-world data. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2024;20(1):2315659.
16. Yaamika H, Muralidas D, Elumalai K. Review of adverse events associated with COVID-19 vaccines, highlighting their frequencies and reported cases. J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2023;18(6):1646-1661.
17. Alzarea AI, Khan YH, Alatawi AD, et al. Surveillance of post-vaccination side effects of COVID-19 vaccines among Saudi population: a real-world estimation of safety profile. Vaccines. 2022;10:924.
18. Riad A, Sağıroğlu D, Üstün B, et al. Prevalence and risk factors of CoronaVac side effects: an independent cross-sectional study among healthcare workers in Turkey. J Clin Med. 2021;10(12):2629.
19. Lee YW, Lim SY, Lee JH, et al. Adverse reactions of the second dose of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in healthcare workers in Korea. J Korean Med Sci. 2021;36(21):e153.
20. Borroni E, Consonni D, Cugno M, et al. Side effects among healthcare workers from a large Milan university hospital after second dose of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine. Med Lav. 2021;112(6):477-485.
21. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Possible side effects from vaccines. CDC; 2024. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/basics/possible-side-effects.html.
22. Meo SA, Bukhari IA, Akram J, et al. COVID-19 vaccines: comparison of biological, pharmacological characteristics and adverse effects of Pfizer/BioNTech and Moderna vaccines. Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci. 2021;25(3):1663-1669.
23. Kadali RAK, Janagama R, Peruru S, et al. Side effects of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine: a randomized, cross-sectional study with detailed self-reported symptoms from healthcare workers. Int J Infect Dis. 2021;106:376-381.
24. Nassar RI, Alnatour D, Thiab S, et al. Short-term side effects of COVID-19 vaccines: a cross-sectional study in Jordan. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2022;18(5):2082792.
25. Onyango J, Mukunya D, Napyo A, et al. Side-effects following Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Tororo District, Eastern Uganda: a cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(22):15303.
26. Komici K, Verderosa S, D'Amico F, et al. Self-reported side effects following COVID-19 vaccination in athletes: a retrospective study. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2023;19(2):2234788.
27. Gültekin EO, Gültekin O. Sağlık çalışanlarının COVID-19 aşı tutumu. Türk Mikrobiyoloji Cemiyeti Dergisi. 2022;52(2):119-130.
28. Nassar RI. Short-term side effects of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine among Jordanian population: a cross-sectional study. Arch Acad Emerg Med. 2023;11(1):e22.
29. Dar-Odeh N, Abu-Hammad O, Qasem F, et al. Long-term adverse events of three COVID-19 vaccines as reported by vaccinated physicians and dentists: a study from Jordan and Saudi Arabia. Hum Vaccin Immunother. 2022;18(1):2039017.
30. Long Z, Jiang S, Xin H, et al. Acquired immune thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP) associated with inactivated COVID-19 vaccine CoronaVac. Front Med. 2024;18(4):744-751.
31. Republic of Turkey Ministry of Health. National implementation strategy of the COVID-19 vaccine. COVID-19 Vaccine Information Platform; 2022. Available from: https://covid19asi.saglik.gov.tr/TR-77706/covid-19-asisi-ulusal-uygulamastratejisi.html.
32. Bilgin H, Marku M, Yilmaz SS, et al. The effect of immunization with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (CoronaVac) and/or SARS-CoV-2 infection on antibody levels, plasmablasts, long-lived plasma cells, and IFN-γ release by natural killer cells. Vaccine. 2022;40(18):2619–2625.