Volume 25, Issue 118, December 2021

Adverse effects of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine among adolescents aged 12-18 in Saudi Arabia

Osama Abdul Rahman Marglani^1♦, Mohammed Bakr Qashqari², Meshal Talal Alnashri², Hassan Abdulmohsen Alharbi², Mohammed Ibrahim Namenkani², Nora Talal Alnashri³, Mohammed Saad Alamri³, Khames Torki Alzahrani⁴

¹Consultant, Rhinologist, ORL, HNS surgeon Professor, Faculty of Medicine - Otolaryngology, head and neck department, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
²Medical student, University of Jeddah, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
³MBBS, Saudi board of Internal Medicine Resident, King Abdullah Medical Complex, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
⁴BDS, PGD in Endo, Ministry of Health, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

^♦Corresponding author
Osama Abdul Rahman Marglani Consultant, Rhinologist, ORL, HNS surgeon Professor, Faculty of Medicine - Otolaryngology, head and neck department, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia

ABSTRACT

Background: Since its discovery in China in 2019, the Coronavirus illness (COVID-19) has posed a worldwide threat. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 is to blame (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2 is a highly contagious and transmissible virus that endangers human life and health. Several COVID-19 vaccinations have been linked to serious side effects. To examine the adverse effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine among adolescents aged 12-18 in Saudi Arabia. Methods: Between August 2020 and September 2021, we conducted a cross-sectional online survey among Saudi Arabian adolescents aged 12 to 18. An online questionnaire was employed to collect data. The social sciences statistical program was used to analyze the data (SPSS, version 27.0). Results: The research analyzed 1,599 responses from the online questionnaires. The study participants comprised 45.3% males and 54.7% females. The most common symptoms that were associated with the first dose among the study participants included pain (39.9%), swelling (17.5%), redness (14.1%), warmth (13.8%), fever (16.3%), chills (9.2%), muscle pain (18.5%), joint pain (9.6%), headache (19.0%), and dizziness (10.7%). Comparison to find associations with symptoms were done with gender and previous diagnosis of COVID-19, the results revealed several significant associations with various symptoms reported by the participants (P-value<0.05). Conclusion: The adverse effects of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine observed among adolescents in Saudi Arabia included swelling, redness, warmth, fever, chills, muscle pain, joint pain, headache, and dizziness. This study recommends a follow-up on patients with negative side effects to determine the severity of the symptoms and hospitalization rate.

Keywords: Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, COVID-19, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Medical Science, 2021, 25(118), 3421-3430

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