Assessment and Correlation of Adverse Events Following Coronavirus Disease Vaccination with Blood Group and Dietary Style

Abstract

Objectives: The objective of this study is to assess and correlate adverse drug events following coronavirus disease (COVID) vaccination with blood group and dietary style. Methodology: This is a cross-sectional study carried out from May 2021 to July 2021. A prevalidated Google questionnaire containing demographic details, dietary style, blood group, preexisting diseases, and adverse events of the COVID vaccine was circulated to all health-care professionals of our institution through mail/WhatsApp. Informed consent was obtained (in Google Forms) from all the participants after describing the purpose of the study and the assurance to maintain anonymity and confidentiality. A total of 102 responses were collected, out of which 100 (n = 100) responses were analyzed and interpreted (two responses were excluded since participants are not vaccinated). The descriptive statistical method is applied for the assessment of adverse events. The Chi-square test is applied to assess the correlation between adverse events with blood group and dietary style. P < 0.05 is considered statistically significant. Results: The majority of the participants had comorbidities (80%) and were not infected with COVID (90%) before vaccination. Pain at the injection site is very frequently experienced followed by body aches, fatigue, fever, and weakness of the arm. The Chi-square correlation test showed that nonvegetarians had a significantly higher incidence of pain at the injection site compared to vegetarians [χ2 = 7.799, P < 0.004]. However, the study did not find a significant association between other adverse events with blood group and dietary style of the participants (P > 0.05). Conclusion: The present study concludes that study participants experienced minor adverse events following Covishield and Covaxin; pain at the injection site, myalgia, and fever are more frequent. Moreover, there is a higher incidence of injection site pain in nonvegetarians compared to vegetarians. However, there is no significant association between other adverse events with blood group and dietary style of the participants.