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El-Shitany NA, Harakeh S, Badr-Eldin SM, et al. Minor to Moderate Side Effects of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Among Saudi Residents: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Gen Med. 2021;14:1389-1401doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S310497.
El-Shitany, N. A., Harakeh, S., Badr-Eldin, S. M., Bagher, A. M., Eid, B., Almukadi, H., Alghamdi, B. S., Alahmadi, A. A., Hassan, N. A., Sindi, N., Alghamdi, S. A., Almohaimeed, H. M., Mohammedsaleh, Z. M., Al-Shaikh, T. M., Almuhayawi, M. S., Ali, S. S., & El-Hamamsy, M. (2021). Minor to Moderate Side Effects of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Among Saudi Residents: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study. International journal of general medicine, 141389-1401. https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S310497
El-Shitany, Nagla A, et al. "Minor to Moderate Side Effects of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Among Saudi Residents: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study." International journal of general medicine vol. 14 (2021): 1389-1401. doi: https://doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S310497
El-Shitany NA, Harakeh S, Badr-Eldin SM, Bagher AM, Eid B, Almukadi H, Alghamdi BS, Alahmadi AA, Hassan NA, Sindi N, Alghamdi SA, Almohaimeed HM, Mohammedsaleh ZM, Al-Shaikh TM, Almuhayawi MS, Ali SS, El-Hamamsy M. Minor to Moderate Side Effects of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Among Saudi Residents: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study. Int J Gen Med. 2021 Apr 19;14:1389-1401. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S310497. eCollection 2021. PMID: 33907443; PMCID: PMC8068468.
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Int J Gen Med. 2021 Apr 19;14:1389-1401. doi: 10.2147/IJGM.S310497. eCollection 2021.

Minor to Moderate Side Effects of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine Among Saudi Residents: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

International journal of general medicine

Nagla A El-Shitany, Steve Harakeh, Shaimaa M Badr-Eldin, Amina M Bagher, Basma Eid, Haifa Almukadi, Badrah S Alghamdi, Ahlam A Alahmadi, Nibal A Hassan, Nariman Sindi, Samar A Alghamdi, Hailah M Almohaimeed, Zuhair M Mohammedsaleh, Turki M Al-Shaikh, Mohammed S Almuhayawi, Soad S Ali, Manal El-Hamamsy

Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  2. Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt.
  3. Special Infectious Agents Unit, King Fahd Medical Research Center, Yousef Abdullatif Jameel Chair of Prophetic Medicine Application, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  4. Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  5. Department of Pharmaceutics and Industrial Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt.
  6. Department of Physiology, Neuroscience Unit, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  7. Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  8. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
  9. Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  10. Department of Oral Biology, Faculty of Dentistry, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  11. Department of Basic Science, Faculty of Medicine, Princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
  12. Department of Medical Laboratory Technology, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, University of Tabuk, Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.
  13. Department of Biology, College of Science and Arts at Khulis, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  14. Department of Microbiology and Medical Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, 21589, Saudi Arabia.
  15. Department of Histology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.
  16. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
  17. Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.

PMID: 33907443 PMCID: PMC8068468 DOI: 10.2147/IJGM.S310497

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine has recently received emergency approval from the US FDA. The mRNA technology was used to manufacture the Pfizer vaccine; however, as a pioneering technology that has never been used in the manufacture of vaccines, many people have concerns about the vaccine's side effects. Thus, the current study aimed to track the short-term side effects of the vaccine.

METHODS: The information in this study was gathered by a Google Form-questionnaire (online survey). The results included the responses of 455 individuals, all of whom are Saudi Arabia inhabitants. Adverse effects of the vaccine were reported after the first and the second doses.

RESULTS: The most common symptoms were injection site pain, headaches, flu-like symptoms, fever, and tiredness. Less common side effects were a fast heartbeat, whole body aches, difficulty breathing, joint pain, chills, and drowsiness. Rare side effects include Bell's palsy and lymph nodes swelling and tenderness. Flu-like symptoms were more common among those under 60 years of age, while injection site pain was more frequent among recipients who were 60 years and older. The study revealed a significant increase in the number of females who suffered from the vaccine side effects compared to males. Difficulty of breathing was more reported among recipients who had been previously infected with the coronavirus compared to those who had not been previously infected.

CONCLUSION: Most of the side effects reported in this study were consistent with Pfizer's fact sheet for recipients and caregivers. Further studies are required to determine the long-term side effects.

© 2021 El-Shitany et al.

Keywords: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine; flu-like symptoms; hypersensitivity; injection site pain; online survey; side effects

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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