Objective: To evaluate the responses of medical students who received COVID-19 vaccine about post-vaccination side effects and their relation with pre-existing health diseases, gender, year of study and smoking.
Methodology: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in August 2021 among first to final year students of Rawalpindi Medical University, Rawalpindi. We calculated sample size of 385; however self-structured questionnaires were distributed in 500 students, 100 from each year. Data were analyzed using SPSS-22 and Chi-square test was employed for significance.
Results: All 500 students were vaccinated, with the majority being administered Sino pharm (44%). Out of these 500, 249 (49.8%) did not report any adverse effects after vaccination. However, 36.6% reported mild symptoms, 9% moderate symptoms, and 4.6% severe symptoms (including those who had to be hospitalized). Pain at the inoculation site (40%), and general fatigue and tiredness (34.4%) were the most prominent symptoms. Female students reported severe and irregular menstruation as the top complaint. Moderna vaccine was found to be the safest concerning side effects. Fear of side effects and Western hype/propaganda were the main reasons for hesitancy towards vaccination.
Conclusion: Many students reported post-covid vaccine symptoms like pain at the injection site, myalgia, fatigue and heavy menstrual bleeding in females. These were manageable in most, but 4.6% had severe symptoms and had to be hospitalized. Hesitancy regarding vaccination due to apprehension against its side effects is still present in medical students.
Key words: Vaccine, adverse effects, medical students, COVID.
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