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. 2023 Apr 21. Online ahead of print. doi: 10.1016/S1473-3099(23)00140-8

Table 2.

Severity of side-effects after bivalent booster vaccination

Ad/P group (n=42) mRNA/P group (n=44) Ad/M group (n=45) mRNA/M group (n=56)
Fatigue
Not at all 19 (45%) 21 (48%) 21 (47%) 24 (43%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 16 (38%) 14 (32%) 17 (38%) 20 (36%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity 6 (14%) 7 (16%) 7 (16%) 10 (18%)
Significantly, I could not perform my daily activity 1 (2%) 2 (5%) 0 2 (4%)
Shiver
Not at all 35 (83%) 33 (75%) 35 (78%) 42 (75%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 7 (17%) 10 (23%) 6 (13%) 6 (11%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity 0 1 (2%) 4 (9%) 4 (7%)
Significantly, I could not perform my daily activity 0 0 0 4 (7%)
Fever
Not at all 35 (83%) 38 (86%) 35 (78%) 45 (80%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 5 (12%) 5 (11%) 7 (16%) 7 (13%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity 2 (5%) 1 (2%) 2 (4%) 2 (4%)
Significantly, I could not perform my daily activity 0 0 1 (2%) 2 (4%)
Nausea
Not at all 39 (93%) 42 (95%) 39 (87%) 51 (91%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 3 (7%) 2 (5%) 4 (9%) 3 (5%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity 0 0 2 (4%) 0
Significantly, I could not perform my daily activity 0 0 0 2 (4%)
Headache
Not at all 28 (67%) 20 (45%) 25 (56%) 27 (48%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 10 (24%) 22 (50%) 17 (38%) 17 (30%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity 4 (10%) 2 (4%) 2 (4%) 9 (16%)
Significantly, I could not perform my daily activity 0 2 (5%) 1 (2%) 3 (5%)
Muscle ache
Not at all 26 (62%) 20 (45%) 25 (56%) 30 (54%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 14 (33%) 16 (36%) 17 (38%) 16 (29%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity 1 (2%) 7 (16%) 3 (7%) 7 (13%)
Significantly, I could not perform my daily activity 1 (2%) 1 (2%) 0 3 (5%)
Joint pain
Not at all 36 (86%) 39 (89%) 30 (67%) 37 (66%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 6 (14%) 2 (5%) 13 (29%) 15 (27%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity 0 (0%) 3 (7%) 2 (4%) 3 (5%)
Significantly, I could not perform my daily activity 0 0 0 1 (2%)
Red spot at vaccination site, cm
0 40 (95%) 40 (91%) 39 (87%) 50 (89%)
2·5–5·0 2 4 (9%) 5 (11%) 5 (9%)
5·1–10·0 0 0 1 (2%) 0
>10·0 0 0 0 1 (2%)
Swelling at vaccination site, cm
0 39 (93%) 38 (86%) 40 (89%) 46 (82%)
2·5–5·0 3 (7%) 5 (11%) 4 (9%) 8 (14%)
5·1–10·0 0 1 (2%) 1 (2%) 1 (2%)
>10·0 cm 0 0 0 1 (2%)
Pain at vaccination site
Not at all 10 (24%) 9 (20%) 10 (22%) 13 (23%)
A little, but it did not hinder my daily activity 31 (74%) 33 (75%) 33 (73%) 35 (63%)
Quite, it hindered my daily activity and I took mild painkillers (eg, paracetamol) but not strong painkillers (eg, morphine or oxycodone) 1 (2%) 2 (5%) 2 (4%) 8 (14%)

Data are n (%). Percentages might not sum to 100 because of rounding. Participants in the direct boost group were divided into four groups: (1) Ad26.COV2.S prime and BNT162b2 OMI BA.1 boost (Ad/P), (2) mRNA-based prime and BNT162b2 OMI BA.1 boost (mRNA/P), (3) Ad26.COV2.S prime and mRNA-1273·214 boost (Ad/M), and (4) mRNA-based prime and mRNA-1273·214 boost (mRNA/M). The BNT162b2 BA.1 boost was given to participants younger than 45 years, and the mRNA-1273·214 boost was given to participants 45 years or older, as per Dutch guidelines. Participants were asked in an electronic questionnaire how severely they were affected by these side-effects in the 7 days after booster vaccination.