Investigation of the incidence of immunisation stress-related response following COVID-19 vaccination in healthcare workers

• Published in: Journal of infection and chemotherapy : official journal of the Japan Society of Chemotherapy Vol. 28; no. 6; pp. 735 - 740
• Main Authors: Takano, Tomonori, Hirose, Masanori, Yamasaki, Yukitaka, Hara, Masatoshi, Okada, Tomoyuki, Kunishima, Hiroyuki
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier Ltd 01.06.2022; Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd
• Subjects: Adverse events following immunisation; Allergy; Anxiety-related response; Coronavirus disease 2019; COVID-19 - epidemiology; COVID-19 - prevention & control; COVID-19 Vaccines - adverse effects; Health Personnel; Humans; Hypersensitivity; Immunisation stress-related response; Incidence; Original; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination; Vaccination - adverse effects; Allergy; FDA; OR; Coronavirus disease 2019; Vaccination; CI; ISRR; DNSR; Immunisation stress-related response; IQR; CRPS; COVID-19; CFS; Adverse events following immunisation; AEFI; POTS; Anxiety-related response; WHO
• ISSN: 1341-321X; 1437-7780; 1437-7780
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jiac.2022.02.002

Safe vaccination worldwide is critical to end the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. We aimed to evaluate adverse reactions to vaccination using a web-based questionnaire and examine the risk factors for the occurrence of immunisation stress-related response (ISRR). We conducted a questionnaire survey using Google Form® among the employees of St. Marianna University Hospital who had received the COVID-19 vaccine between April 2021 and May 2021, 1 week after the first and second vaccinations. We developed and used a questionnaire to identify individuals with ISRR according to the World Health Organization diagnostic criteria. A generalised linear mixed model was constructed with ISRR onset as the dependent variable, subjects as the random factor, and each parameter as a fixed factor. A multivariate model was constructed using the forced imputation method with factors that were significant in the univariate analysis. We enrolled 2,073 and 1,856 respondents in the first and second questionnaire surveys, respectively. Fifty-five and 33 ISRR cases were identified in the first and second vaccinations, respectively. In the univariate analysis, strong pre-vaccination anxiety (odds ratio [OR], 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.30–4.12, p = 0·004) and history of allergy (OR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.14–2.24, p = 0·007) were significant risk factors. Multivariate analysis also showed that strong pre-vaccination anxiety (OR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.15–3.80, p = 0.016) and history of allergy (OR, 1.5; 95% CI, 1.09–2.15, p = 0.014) were significant risk factors. Confirmation of allergy prior to vaccination and subsequent action are essential for addressing ISRR.