ANTI-SARS-COV-2 VACCINATION: ABOUT THE ALGERIAN EXPERIENCE

Abstract

Introduction: The recent pandemic of the novel coronavirus-2 of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-Cov-2 orCOVID-19), is one of the deadly diseases of the last twenty years.Objectives: Many efforts have been devoted to find solutions to fight COVID-19 pandemic as quickly and effectively aspossible. After the development of COVID-19 vaccines, several rumors about their effectiveness and safety spread all overthe world. The objective of the present study is to report data about the vaccination in Algeria and to document the variousside-effects notified by the Algerian population during the 24 hours following the administration of anti-COVID-19vaccines.Methods: An online observational retrospective survey targeting Algerian adults residing in the different Wilayas of thecountry has been conducted.Results: Nine hundred and ninety-four (994) Algerians participated in this survey. The age of the participants rangedbetween 18 and 78 years with an average of 34.75 ± 14.31 years. The sex ratio was 2.1 with female predominance. Theparticipants were from different Wilayas (provinces) especially: Bejaia (21.6%), Setif (17.8%), Algiers (8.5%), Batna(4.9%), etc. Almost half of the participants (46.9%) have a university degree. A total of 24% of participants werevaccinated between February 2021 and March 2022. Of these, 81.1% were fully vaccinated and 18.9% were partiallyvaccinated. Numerous vaccines were administered; Sinovac (50.4%), Janssen (16%), Sputnik (12.2%), AstraZeneca(10.1%), Sinopharm (5.9%), Pfizer (4.6%). More than half (62.3%) did not feel any signs after vaccination. Others (37.7%)claimed the appearance of certain effects including fever (21.6%), pain (16.5%), asthenia (8.1%), headache (7.2%) andothers (40.1%).Conclusion: According to the Algerian experience, in the majority of cases, anti-COVID-19 vaccines are devoid fromannoying effects. In some cases, it may be accompanied by some mild effects. However, vaccination is an important wayto prevent COVID-19 infection and the vaccine can be used safely.