One of the three COVID-19 vaccinations that is most frequently used in the UK is the BNT162b2 vaccine. Healthcare professionals were one of the prioritized priority groups for immunization because they were more likely to get the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection. Despite the fact that COVID-19 vaccines were subjected to phase III clinical trials to assess their safety, mild to moderate adverse responses to the BNT162b2 vaccine’s first and second booster doses had been documented.
To date, the third booster dosage of the COVID-19 vaccine has been administered to nearly 40 million people in the United Kingdom. Also, it was suggested that healthcare professionals get their third booster shot around the time that the seasonal flu vaccine is typically given out.
Uncertainty exists around whether a third booster dosage also causes side effects and whether these side effects are exacerbated in people with a history of COVID-19 or those who have recently got their influenza vaccination.In the present descriptive and retrospective observational study, healthcare workers from three hospitals in Northeast England were invited to complete an anonymous online structured and multiple-choice questionnaire. This questionnaire aimed to determine any adverse reactions that the healthcare workers might have experienced after receiving the first, second, and third booster doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine.
Adverse reactions were documented according to the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) toxicity grading scale. Self-reported COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay or other test results were used to confirm a prior history of COVID-19.
The study participants were also asked to report whether they received the influenza vaccine the week preceding their COVID-19 booster dose. If the influenza vaccine was administered earlier, these individuals were asked to report any adverse reactions they experienced after receiving the influenza vaccine.
For all three booster doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine and non-concomitant influenza vaccines, the number of adverse reactions that persisted beyond one day was calculated. For the first two booster doses of the BNT162b2 vaccine, adverse reactions were considered only if the participants reported them as being similar to or worse than their current symptoms. Factors such as gender, age, and ongoing COVID-19 symptoms were considered during the analysis.
