Adverse Effects of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Reported by Kabul University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) Students, Kabul, Afghanistan

Abstract

Objective: Assessment of the existence and severity of the adverse effects of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine among Kabul University of Medical Sciences students. Methods & Material: An interview- based, observational retrospective study was conducted to assess adverse effects of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine among Kabul University of Medical Sciences (KUMS) students from 13th to 29th March, 2022. After the administration of a single dose of the mentioned vaccine, a professional interviewer interviewed all the participants. Students were asked to report all the adverse effects they suffered within the first week of vaccination. Interrelation of the adverse effects was analyzed with the age and sex of the all the participants. The population had no history of previous COVID-19 vaccines. Result: The most common adverse effects of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine was pain at injection site. Most of the participants reported headache, fever and chills after taking single dose of Janssen Vaccine. The rare side effects of this vaccine were amnesia, dizziness, hand paralysis, hypotension and chest pain. Prevalence of the side effects was higher in age group <20 than age group ≥20. Those effects were mild to moderate in severity and there were no hospitalization reports. There was no case of severe adverse effect or Guillain–Barre syndrome (GBS). Adverse effects were more severe in participants with history of another COVID virus infection, SARS-CoV-2. Conclusion: The participants of this study reported that the adverse effects of Janssen COVID-19 vaccine were mild to moderate in severity and no case of severe adverse effects was reported. As the duration, the adverse effects were of short duration.