The role of blood groups, vaccine type and gender in predicting the severity of side effects among university students receiving COVID-19 vaccines.

On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) a pandemic. To control the pandemic, billions of vaccine doses have been administered worldwide. Predictors of COVID-19 vaccine-related side effects are inconsistently described in the literature. This study aimed to identify the predictors of side effects' severity after COVID-19 vaccination among young adult students at Taif University (TU) in Saudi Arabia. An online, anonymous questionnaire was used. Descriptive statistics were calculated for numerical and categorical variables. Possible correlations with other characteristics were identified using the chi-square test. The study included 760 young adult participants from TU. Pain at the injection site (54.7%), headache (45.0%), lethargy and fatigue (43.3%), and fever (37.5%) were the most frequently reported COVID-19 vaccine-related side effects after the first dose. The most frequent side effects were reported among the 20-25-year-old age group for all doses of all vaccines. Females experienced remarkably more side effects after the second (p < 0.001) and third doses (p = 0.002). Moreover, ABO blood groups significantly correlated with vaccine-related side effects after the second dose (p = 0.020). The participants' general health status correlated with the side effects after the first and second doses (p < 0.001 and 0.022, respectively). The predictors of COVID-19 vaccine-related side effects in young, vaccinated people were blood group B, female gender, vaccine type, and poor health status.

Correlation between the severity of COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse events and the blood group of the vaccinees in Saudi Arabia: A web-based survey.

Background: Recent epidemiological studies have reported an association between the ABO blood group and the acquisition, symptom severity, and mortality rate of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the association between the ABO blood group antigens and the type and severity of COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse reactions has not been elucidated. Patients and Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study in Saudi Arabia from February to April 2022. The study cohort included adults who had received or were willing to receive at least two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine of any type. We used Chi-square test to assess the association between the ABO blood groups and vaccine-related adverse reactions. p values of <0.05 were considered significant. Results: Of the 1180 participants, approximately half were aged 18-30 years old, 69.2% were female, and 41.6% reported their blood group as O. The most frequent COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse reactions were fatigue (65%), pain at the injection site (56%), and headache (45.9%). These adverse reactions demonstrated significant correlations with the education level (p = 0.003) and nationality (p = 0.018) of the participants following the first dose, with gender (p < 0.001) following the second dose, and with the general health status (p < 0.001) after all the doses. Remarkably, no correlation was observed between the severity of the vaccine-related adverse reactions and ABO blood groups. Conclusion: Our findings do not support a correlation between the severity of COVID-19 vaccine-related adverse reactions and the ABO blood groups of the vaccinees. The creation of a national database is necessary to account for population differences.

High Seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 IgG and RNA among Asymptomatic Blood Donors in Makkah Region, Saudi Arabia.

The gold-standard approach for diagnosing and confirming Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Corona Virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). This method, however, is inefficient in detecting previous or dormant viral infections. The presence of antigen-specific antibodies is the fingerprint and cardinal sign for diagnosis and determination of exposure to infectious agents including Corona virus disease-2019 (COVID-19). This cross-sectional study examined the presence of SARS-CoV-2 spike-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) among asymptomatic blood donors in Makkah region. A total of 4368 asymptomatic blood donors were enrolled. They were screened for spike-specific IgG using ELISA and COVID-19 RNA by real-time PCR. COVID-19 IgG was detected among 2248 subjects (51.5%) while COVID-19-RNA was detected among 473 (10.8%) subjects. The IgG frequency was significantly higher among males and non-Saudi residents (p < 0.001 each) with no significant variation in IgG positivity among blood donors with different blood groups. In addition, COVID-19 RNA frequency was significantly higher among donors below 40-years old (p = 0.047, χ2 = 3.95), and non-Saudi residents (p = 0.001, χ2 = 304.5). The COVID-19 IgG levels were significantly higher among the RNA-positive donors (p = 001), and non-Saudi residents (p = 0.041), with no variations with age or blood group (p > 0.05). This study reveals a very high prevalence of COVID-19 IgG and RNA among asymptomatic blood donors in Makkah, Saudi Arabia indicating a high exposure rate of the general population to COVID-19; particularly foreign residents. It sheds light on the spread on COVID-19 among apparently healthy individuals at the beginning of the pandemic and could help in designing various control measures to minimize viral spread.

Psychological impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the university students in Egypt.

University students are at elevated risk for mental health problems. The COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent public health measures taken to combat it burdened the students' life with additional dramatic psychological impacts. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychological impacts that affected the university students in Egypt during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey was sent to the Egyptian university students via all means of online communication during the first week of May 2020 by using a non-probability snowball sampling. A survey included a short version Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (DASS-21) and socio-demographic data. Overall, 70.5, 53.6 and 47.8% of Egyptian students had depression, anxiety and stress, respectively. Being a female, having a relative or acquaintance infected with COVID-19, having a preexisting chronic disease and lacking of psychological support from families, community and universities increase the risk of depression, anxiety and stress among Egyptian students. Being a medical student is associated with depression while, spending more time to follow news of COVID-19 pandemic is associated with increased anxiety. Egyptian students experience varying levels of psychological disturbance during COVID-19 pandemic. This study suggests that mental health of the university students should be carefully, monitored during the crisis and the universities should provide psychological-oriented services, adapted to these circumstances to mitigate its emotional impact on the students.