The Incidence and Severity of Post-Vaccination Reactions after Vaccination against COVID-19

Abstract

The pandemic of COVID-19 might be limited by vaccination. Society should be vaccinated to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and to protect persons who are at high risk for complications. In Poland, the National Vaccination Program has been introduced, which is a strategy for planning activities to ensure safe and effective vaccinations among Polish citizens. It includes not only the purchase of an appropriate number of vaccines, their distribution but also monitoring of the course and effectiveness of vaccination and the safety of Poles. The national COVID-19 immunization program has been divided into four stages. Stage 0 covers the healthcare workers to be vaccinated first, as they are most at risk of being infected with the coronavirus. The study aims to prove the thesis that GIS statistical data on the incidence of COVID-19 post-vaccination reactions should be verified, as patients do not report their occurrence through the procedure indicated by GIS. In March 2021, an anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted using an electronic questionnaire among persons belonging to group zero of the National Vaccination Program. The survey consisted of 19 short questions concerning, inter alia, getting COVID-19, post-vaccination reactions after receiving the first and second doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and motivation to proceed with vaccination. A total of 1678 complete responses were received. It has been shown that only a small number of post-vaccination reactions are reported to the Sanitary Inspection, which makes GIS statistics on the incidence of post-vaccination reactions in COVID-19 unreliable. In addition, having earlier suffered from COVID-19 had an impact on the occurrence of more severe side effects after the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.