• Bolade Folasade Dele-Ojo, Adedapo Adesokan, Joseph Olusesan Fadare, Paul Oladapo Ajayi, Taiwo Hussean Raimi, Samuel Ayokunle Dada, Owolabi Dele Ojo, James Ayodele Ogunmodede, Tope Michael Ipinnimo, Olumuyiwa Elijah Ariyo, and Brian Godman.
• Department of Medicine, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria.
• Curr Med Res Opin. 2024 Apr 1; 40 (4): 621627621-627.

BackgroundThe safety of the COVID-19 vaccines has been a topic of concern globally. This issue of safety is associated with vaccine hesitancy due to concerns about the adverse effects of the vaccines. Consequently, this study determined the short-term safety profile of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine in Ekiti State, Nigeria.MethodsDescriptive cross-sectional study conducted between May and July 2021 among individuals who had received the first dose of the first batch of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH), Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. A Google form was used to collect data on the adverse effects of the vaccine.ResultsOut of over 1,000 individuals who were approached, 758 respondents completed the study. A large percentage (57.4%) of those who received the vaccines were healthcare workers. Adverse effects were reported in 70.8% of the participants with most manifesting on the first day of the vaccination. The predominant adverse effects were injection site soreness (28.5%), followed by fatigue (18.7%) and muscle pain (8.6%). There was no report of severe adverse effects such as anaphylactic reactions, thrombosis, myocarditis, transient myelitis, or Guillen-Barre syndrome.ConclusionThis study found that self-reported adverse effects of the Oxford/AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine were mild and short in duration. This outcome has promising implications for improving COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the immediate environment and Nigeria.

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