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. 2021 Oct 15;14(10):1049.
doi: 10.3390/ph14101049.

Side Effects of mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccines among Young Adults (18-30 Years Old): An Independent Post-Marketing Study

Abanoub Riad  1   2 , Andrea Pokorná  1   3 , Jitka Klugarová  1   2   3 , Natália Antalová  2   3 , Lucia Kantorová  1   2 , Michal Koščík  2 , Miloslav Klugar  1   2   3
Affiliations

Side Effects of mRNA-Based COVID-19 Vaccines among Young Adults (18-30 Years Old): An Independent Post-Marketing Study

Abanoub Riad et al. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). .

Abstract

Young adults had been widely perceived as a low-risk group for COVID-19 severity; therefore, they were deprioritised within the mass vaccination strategies as their prognosis of COVID-19 infection is relatively more favourable than older age groups. On the other hand, vaccination of this demographic group is indispensable to achieve herd immunity. A cross-sectional survey-based study was used to evaluate the side effects of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines among university students in the Czech Republic. The validated questionnaire was delivered in a digital form, and it consisted of demographic data; COVID-19 vaccine-related anamnesis; and local, systemic, orofacial, and skin-related side effects' prevalence, onset, and duration. Out of the 539 included participants, 70.1% were females and 45.8% were <23 years old. The vast majority (95.2%) reported at least one side effect. The most common side effect was injection site pain (91.8%), followed by fatigue (62.5%), headache (36.4%), and muscle pain (34.9%). The majority of local side effects occurred after both doses (74.4%), while most systemic side effects occurred after the second dose only (56.2%). Most local (94.2%) and systemic (93.3%) side effects resolved within three days after vaccination. Females participants' adjusted odds ratio (AOR) showed they were 2.566 (CI 95%: 1.103-5.970) times more likely to experience post-vaccination side effects, and the participants who received two doses reported an increased AOR of 1.896 (0.708-5.077) for experiencing side effects. The results of this study imply that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines are highly probably safe for young adults, and further studies are required to investigate the role of medical anamnesis, prior COVID-19 infection, and gender in side effects incidence.

Keywords: BNT162 vaccine; COVID-19; Czech Republic; drug-related side effects and adverse reactions; mRNA-1273 vaccine; mass vaccination; phase IV; prevalence; young adult.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sample size of the young adults (18–30 years old) in the Czech Republic—Epi-Info TM version 7.2.4.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Side Effects of mRNA-based COVID-19 Vaccines Experienced by Young Adults (18–30 years old), Czech Republic, April–June 2021 (n = 539).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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