Efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in patients over 18 years of age. Scoping Review.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26871/ceus.v7i1.216Keywords:
COVID-19 vaccine, virus, efficacy, safety, COVID-19Abstract
Abstract
Background: The ultra-rapid development of COVID-19 vaccines generated serious controversies in the evaluation of their effectiveness and safety, since given their “justified” emerging approval, these biological products were certified in record time.
General objective: to evaluate the efficacy and safety parameters of COVID-19 vaccines in patients over 18 years of age.
Methodology: exploratory systematic review-scoping review, without meta-analysis. Controlled Clinical Trials (RCTs), cohort studies and case-control studies were included, published since 2020, in english and spanish, carried out on people over 18 years of age, referenced in journals quartile 1 to 4 according to the Scimago portal. Descriptors in health sciences and in english medical subject headings were applied, “vaccine efficacy”, “safety”, “coronavirus disease 2019 virus vaccines”, “COVID-19 vaccine”. Boolean operators and, or and not were applied. The results will be presented in customized tables.
Results: COVID-19 vaccines are effective, especially in preventing complications. The results indicate the importance of booster doses. Regarding safety, it was assessed according to the frequency of adverse effects that vary between vaccines and studies. Thus, the frequency of pain at the injection site varies from 61% to 88% for AstraZeneca, while for Pfizer-BioNTech it is 71% for the first dose and 66% for the second dose. This analysis shows that, although all vaccines have adverse effects, most are mild and temporary. Serious adverse effects are rare.
Keywords: COVID-19 vaccine, virus, efficacy, safety, COVID-19.
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References
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[18] Thomas SJ, Moreira ED, Kitchin N, Absalon J, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, et al. Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine through 6 Months. N Engl J Med 2021;385:1761–73. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2110345.
[19] Falsey AR, Sobieszczyk ME, Hirsch I, Sproule S, Robb ML, Corey L, et al. Phase 3 Safety and Efficacy of AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) Covid-19 Vaccine. N Engl J Med 2021:NEJMoa2105290. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2105290.
[20] Logunov DY, Dolzhikova IV, Shcheblyakov DV, Tukhvatulin AI, Zubkova OV, Dzharullaeva AS, et al. Safety and efficacy of an rAd26 and rAd5 vector-based heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine: an interim analysis of a randomised controlled phase 3 trial in Russia. Lancet Lond Engl 2021;397:671–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00234-8.
[21] Link-Gelles R, Levy ME, Natarajan K, Reese SE, Naleway AL, Grannis SJ, et al. Estimation of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Effectiveness and COVID-19 Illness and Severity by Vaccination Status During Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 Sublineage Periods. JAMA Netw Open 2023;6:e232598. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.2598.
[22] Eyre DW, Taylor D, Purver M, Chapman D, Fowler T, Pouwels KB, et al. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on Alpha & Delta variant transmission 2021:2021.09.28.21264260.
[23] Escudero C, Prieto-Montaño P, Audicana MT. Adverse Reactions to Anti-Infective Vaccines: an Emerging Problem in the COVID-19 Era. Curr Treat Options Allergy 2022;9:250–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40521-022-00311-8.
[24] Ramasamy MN, Minassian AM, Ewer KJ, Flaxman AL, Folegatti PM, Owens DR, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine administered in a prime-boost regimen in young and old adults (COV002): a single-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2/3 trial. The Lancet 2020;396:1979–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32466-1.
[25] Paneluisa ALA, Peralta ALJ. Efectos secundarios percibidos por la población de la vacunación contra la Covid-19. Horiz Enferm 2022:6–16. https://doi.org/10.32645/13906984.1168.
[26] Hernández-Bello J, Morales-Núñez JJ, Machado-Sulbarán AC, Díaz-Pérez SA, Torres-Hernández PC, Balcázar-Félix P, et al. Neutralizing Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, Anti-Ad5 Antibodies, and Reactogenicity in Response to Ad5-nCoV (CanSino Biologics) Vaccine in Individuals with and without Prior SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines 2021;9:1047. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9091047.
[27] Guzmán-Martínez O, Guardado K, de Guevara EL, Navarro S, Hernández C, Zenteno-Cuevas R, et al. IgG Antibodies Generation and Side Effects Caused by Ad5-nCoV Vaccine (CanSino Biologics) and BNT162b2 Vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech) among Mexican Population. Vaccines 2021;9:999. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9090999.
[28] López-Contreras JE, Paredes-Casillas P, Morales-Romero J, Castillo-Vélez FE, Lona-Reyes JC, Bedolla-Barajas M. Incidencia y factores asociados con las reacciones adversas tras la primera dosis de la vacuna Pfizer-BioNTech en trabajadores de la salud. Cir Cir 2023;91:034–41. https://doi.org/10.24875/CIRU.21000749.
[29] Hernández RDCS, Zayas EO, Duque RR, Rodríguez AVG, Flores DMB. Síntomas adversos de la primera dosis de la vacuna AstraZeneca contra COVID-19 en adultos ecuatorianos. Rev Eugenio Espejo 2022;16:58–71. https://doi.org/10.37135/ee.04.15.07.
[30] Paredes GSC. Efectos adversos de la vacuna anticovid-19 Oxford/AstraZeneca en personal sanitario del Hospital San Isidro en Tocoa, Colón, Honduras. Innovare Rev Cienc Tecnol 2022;11:100–2. https://doi.org/10.5377/innovare.v11i2.14784.
[31] Wu S, Huang J, Zhang Z, Wu J, Zhang J, Hu H, et al. Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of an aerosolised adenovirus type-5 vector-based COVID-19 vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) in adults: preliminary report of an open-label and randomised phase 1 clinical trial. Lancet Infect Dis 2021;21:1654–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00396-0.
[2] Ugalde A, Hellmann F, Homedes N. Inequity in access to vaccines: the failure of the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Salud Colect 2022;18:e4190–e4190. https://doi.org/10.18294/sc.2022.4190.
[3] Ball P. The lightning-fast quest for COVID vaccines - and what it means for other diseases. Nature 2021;589:16–8. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-03626-1.
[4] Billington J, Deschamps I, Erck SC, Gerberding JL, Hanon E, Ivol S, et al. Developing Vaccines for SARS-CoV-2 and Future Epidemics and Pandemics: Applying Lessons from Past Outbreaks. Health Secur 2020;18:241–9. https://doi.org/10.1089/hs.2020.0043.
[5] Janssen Biotech, Inc. Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee Meeting February 26, 202 n.d. https://www.fda.gov/media/146217/download.
[6] Prüβ BM. Current State of the First COVID-19 Vaccines. Vaccines 2021;9:30. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9010030.
[7] Castelo-Rivas WP, Carrión-Cevallos KJ, Ramírez-Cedeño KJ, Tipanluisa-Cajilema SA. Reacciones adversas en personas vacunadas contra la COVID-19 pertenecientes al Recinto Umpechico, Ecuador. Rev Inf Científica 2022;101. http://scielo.sld.cu/scielo.php?script=sci_abstract&pid=S1028-99332022000400010&lng=es&nrm=iso&tlng=es.
[8] Al Khames Aga QA, Alkhaffaf WH, Hatem TH, Nassir KF, Batineh Y, Dahham AT, et al. Safety of COVID-19 vaccines. J Med Virol 2021;93:6588–94. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmv.27214.
[9] Ahmed SH, Waseem S, Shaikh TG, Qadir NA, Siddiqui SA, Ullah I, et al. SARS-CoV-2 vaccine-associated-tinnitus: A review. Ann Med Surg 2022;75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2022.103293.
[10] Graña C, Ghosn L, Evrenoglou T, Jarde A, Minozzi S, Bergman H, et al. Efficacy and safety of COVID‐19 vaccines. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2022. https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD015477.
[11] Eyre DW, Taylor D, Purver M, Chapman D, Fowler T, Pouwels KB, et al. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on Alpha & Delta variant transmission 2021:2021.09.28.21264260. https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.09.28.21264260.
[12] Duong D. Alpha, Beta, Delta, Gamma: What’s important to know about SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern? CMAJ Can Med Assoc J 2021;193:E1059–60. https://doi.org/10.1503/cmaj.1095949.
[13] Chemaitelly H, Tang P, Hasan MR, AlMukdad S, Yassine HM, Benslimane FM, et al. Waning of BNT162b2 Vaccine Protection against SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Qatar. N Engl J Med 2021;385:e83. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2114114.
[14] Andrews N, Stowe J, Kirsebom F, Toffa S, Rickeard T, Gallagher E, et al. Covid-19 Vaccine Effectiveness against the Omicron (B.1.1.529) Variant. N Engl J Med 2022;386:1532–46. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2119451.
[15] Haas EJ, Angulo FJ, McLaughlin JM, Anis E, Singer SR, Khan F, et al. Impact and effectiveness of mRNA BNT162b2 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 cases, hospitalisations, and deaths following a nationwide vaccination campaign in Israel: an observational study using national surveillance data. The Lancet 2021;397:1819–29. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00947-8.
[16] McMenamin ME, Nealon J, Lin Y, Wong JY, Cheung JK, Lau EHY, et al. Vaccine effectiveness of one, two, and three doses of BNT162b2 and CoronaVac against COVID-19 in Hong Kong: a population-based observational study. Lancet Infect Dis 2022;22:1435–43. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(22)00345-0.
[17] Polack FP, Thomas SJ, Kitchin N, Absalon J, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, et al. Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine. N Engl J Med 2020;383:2603–15. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2034577.
[18] Thomas SJ, Moreira ED, Kitchin N, Absalon J, Gurtman A, Lockhart S, et al. Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine through 6 Months. N Engl J Med 2021;385:1761–73. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2110345.
[19] Falsey AR, Sobieszczyk ME, Hirsch I, Sproule S, Robb ML, Corey L, et al. Phase 3 Safety and Efficacy of AZD1222 (ChAdOx1 nCoV-19) Covid-19 Vaccine. N Engl J Med 2021:NEJMoa2105290. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2105290.
[20] Logunov DY, Dolzhikova IV, Shcheblyakov DV, Tukhvatulin AI, Zubkova OV, Dzharullaeva AS, et al. Safety and efficacy of an rAd26 and rAd5 vector-based heterologous prime-boost COVID-19 vaccine: an interim analysis of a randomised controlled phase 3 trial in Russia. Lancet Lond Engl 2021;397:671–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)00234-8.
[21] Link-Gelles R, Levy ME, Natarajan K, Reese SE, Naleway AL, Grannis SJ, et al. Estimation of COVID-19 mRNA Vaccine Effectiveness and COVID-19 Illness and Severity by Vaccination Status During Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 Sublineage Periods. JAMA Netw Open 2023;6:e232598. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.2598.
[22] Eyre DW, Taylor D, Purver M, Chapman D, Fowler T, Pouwels KB, et al. The impact of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination on Alpha & Delta variant transmission 2021:2021.09.28.21264260.
[23] Escudero C, Prieto-Montaño P, Audicana MT. Adverse Reactions to Anti-Infective Vaccines: an Emerging Problem in the COVID-19 Era. Curr Treat Options Allergy 2022;9:250–72. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40521-022-00311-8.
[24] Ramasamy MN, Minassian AM, Ewer KJ, Flaxman AL, Folegatti PM, Owens DR, et al. Safety and immunogenicity of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine administered in a prime-boost regimen in young and old adults (COV002): a single-blind, randomised, controlled, phase 2/3 trial. The Lancet 2020;396:1979–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)32466-1.
[25] Paneluisa ALA, Peralta ALJ. Efectos secundarios percibidos por la población de la vacunación contra la Covid-19. Horiz Enferm 2022:6–16. https://doi.org/10.32645/13906984.1168.
[26] Hernández-Bello J, Morales-Núñez JJ, Machado-Sulbarán AC, Díaz-Pérez SA, Torres-Hernández PC, Balcázar-Félix P, et al. Neutralizing Antibodies against SARS-CoV-2, Anti-Ad5 Antibodies, and Reactogenicity in Response to Ad5-nCoV (CanSino Biologics) Vaccine in Individuals with and without Prior SARS-CoV-2. Vaccines 2021;9:1047. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9091047.
[27] Guzmán-Martínez O, Guardado K, de Guevara EL, Navarro S, Hernández C, Zenteno-Cuevas R, et al. IgG Antibodies Generation and Side Effects Caused by Ad5-nCoV Vaccine (CanSino Biologics) and BNT162b2 Vaccine (Pfizer/BioNTech) among Mexican Population. Vaccines 2021;9:999. https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines9090999.
[28] López-Contreras JE, Paredes-Casillas P, Morales-Romero J, Castillo-Vélez FE, Lona-Reyes JC, Bedolla-Barajas M. Incidencia y factores asociados con las reacciones adversas tras la primera dosis de la vacuna Pfizer-BioNTech en trabajadores de la salud. Cir Cir 2023;91:034–41. https://doi.org/10.24875/CIRU.21000749.
[29] Hernández RDCS, Zayas EO, Duque RR, Rodríguez AVG, Flores DMB. Síntomas adversos de la primera dosis de la vacuna AstraZeneca contra COVID-19 en adultos ecuatorianos. Rev Eugenio Espejo 2022;16:58–71. https://doi.org/10.37135/ee.04.15.07.
[30] Paredes GSC. Efectos adversos de la vacuna anticovid-19 Oxford/AstraZeneca en personal sanitario del Hospital San Isidro en Tocoa, Colón, Honduras. Innovare Rev Cienc Tecnol 2022;11:100–2. https://doi.org/10.5377/innovare.v11i2.14784.
[31] Wu S, Huang J, Zhang Z, Wu J, Zhang J, Hu H, et al. Safety, tolerability, and immunogenicity of an aerosolised adenovirus type-5 vector-based COVID-19 vaccine (Ad5-nCoV) in adults: preliminary report of an open-label and randomised phase 1 clinical trial. Lancet Infect Dis 2021;21:1654–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1473-3099(21)00396-0.
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2026-04-25
How to Cite
Garzón Orellana, P. A., Encalada Torres, L. E., Molina Matute, M. F., & Picón Saavedra, S. (2026). Efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccine in patients over 18 years of age. Scoping Review. CEUS Scientific Journa, 7(1). https://doi.org/10.26871/ceus.v7i1.216
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Copyright (c) 2026 Paul Armando Garzón Orellana, Lorena Esperanza Encalada Torres, Marcos Fernando Molina Matute, Santiago Picón Saavedra
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.