Osong Public Health Res Perspect.  2021 Aug;12(4):264-268. 10.24171/j.phrp.2021.0157.

COVID-19 vaccine safety monitoring in the Republic of Korea: February 26, 2021 to April 30, 2021

• Oh Hk
• Kim EK
• Hwang I
• Kim TE
• Lee Yk
• Lee E
• Lee YK

• KMID: 2520031
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.24171/j.phrp.2021.0157

Abstract

Objectives
On February 26, 2021, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccination was started for high-priority groups based on the recommendation of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices with 2 available COVID-19 vaccines (AstraZeneca and Pfizer-BioNTech) in Korea. This report provides a summary of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination as of April 30, 2021.
Methods
Adverse events following immunization are notifiable by medical doctors to the Korea Immunization Management System (KIMS) under the national surveillance system. We analyzed all adverse events reports following COVID-19 vaccination to the KIMS from February 26 to April 30, 2021.
Results
In total, 16,196 adverse events following 3,586,814 administered doses of COVID-19 vaccines were reported in approximately 2 months (February 26 to April 30, 2021). Of these, 15,658 (96.7%) were non-serious adverse events, and 538 (3.3%) were serious adverse events, including 73 (0.5%) deaths. The majority of adverse events (n=13,063, 80.7%) were observed in women, and the most frequently reported adverse events were myalgia (52.2%), fever (44.9%), and headache (34.9%). Of the 73 deaths following the COVID-19 vaccination, none were related to the vaccines.
Conclusion
By April 30, 3.6 million doses of the COVID 19 vaccine had been given in Korea, and the overwhelming majority of reports were for non-serious events. The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency continues to monitor the safety of COVID-19 vaccination.

Keyword

COVID-19; Vaccines; Safety; Adverse event