Published: 25 August 2021
Revised: 18 January 2023
COVID-19
Post Vaccine Symptom Check: Adult survey results
Introduction
The Post Vaccine Symptom Check (PVSC) survey is an additional way to report suspected reactions to the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine (Comirnaty).
The information from the Post Vaccine Symptom Check survey supports ongoing safety monitoring of Comirnaty, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine used in New Zealand. Find out more about how we are monitoring COVID-19 vaccine safety.
The data collected from the PVSC survey has not raised any new safety concerns for the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
About the PVSC surveys
The first PVSC campaign took place from 27 August to 5 October 2021 and surveyed people who had received dose 1 or dose 2 of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine. On 29 November 2021, a booster dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine became available to those aged 18 years and over. On 2 July 2022, a second booster became available for eligible individuals. From 14 December 2021 to 31 October 2022, the Ministry of Health sent text messages to random samples of people who had received a booster dose.
Text messages asked eligible participants if they had experienced an adverse event/reaction after their vaccination. Participants who answered YES were asked to complete a survey to provide more information about the event. This publication includes the PVSC survey results from dose 1, dose 2, booster dose 1 and booster dose 2 of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
The information on this page shows the number of reports from a sampled population as part of the PVSC campaign. It does not represent the total number of people who experience an adverse event after their vaccination. Not everyone will report a reaction to the vaccine, and some might submit a CARM report themselves. This report to CARM then forms part of the Medsafe Safety reports.
The number of vaccine adverse event reports in the PVSC can be influenced by the number of participants, the nature of the symptoms (eg, how painful the vaccination was), and other factors (eg, concurrent viral infection or other medications taken), which vary over time.
The information presented below is limited by the responses to the survey for dose 1, 2, booster 1 and booster 2 in those aged 18 years and over. Further surveys may be run to coincide with the requirements of the COVID-19 vaccine programme. The results below will be updated to reflect any further surveys.
Survey results – up to and including 31 October 2022
In the surveys 319,136 people responded to the text messages (Table 1). Of those who responded to the survey:
- 56% were female, and 44% were male
- 14% of respondents were Māori, and 6.2% were Pacific peoples.
Of the responses received for all campaigns (Table 2):
- 100,996 (32%) reported that they experienced at least one adverse event/reaction to the vaccine
- 218,140 (68%) reported that they did not experience an adverse event.
Of those that reported an adverse event, the proportion was highest after dose 2 (42%) and lowest after booster 2 (25%) (Table 2).
After each dose, the proportion of people who reported an adverse event was similar for each ethnic group (Figure 1 and Table 3).
The most frequently reported adverse events were injection site reaction, headache, muscle and body aches, joint pain, chills, fatigue and tiredness (Figure 2 and Table 4). These are common adverse reactions linked to the immune response following immunisation.
Ten percent of people who participated in the booster 1 campaign and 4% who participated in the booster 2 campaign reported missing work or other daily activities. Of these, the majority were reported to have missed one day or less. Less than 1% of people visited a doctor after any dose (Figure 3).
The profile of reported events to PVSC for the Pfizer (Comirnaty) COVID-19 vaccine is similar to that reported in clinical trials and from post-marketing surveillance in New Zealand and overseas. Based on this data, we have not identified any new safety concerns.
Table 1: Summary of text message responses, up to and including 31 October 2022
| Campaign | Number of people sent text messages | Number of responses received | Percentage of responses received |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dose 1 and 2 | 94,417 | 50,258 | 53% |
| Booster 1 | 391,665 | 98,698 | 25% |
| Booster 2 | 289,575 | 170,180 | 59% |
Table 2: Responses by vaccine dose and adverse event, up to and including 31 October 2022
| Dose | Did not report an adverse event | Reported at least one adverse event | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | |
| Dose 1 | 15,029 | 66% | 7,684 | 34% |
| Dose 2 | 16,021 | 58% | 11,524 | 42% |
| Booster 1 | 58,740 | 60% | 39,958 | 40% |
| Booster 2 | 128,350 | 75% | 41,830 | 25% |
| Total | 218,140 | 68% | 100,996 | 32% |
Figure 1: Percentagea of people that reported an adverse event, by ethnicity, up to and including 31 October 2022
Table 3: Number and percentage of people that reported an adverse event, by ethnicity, up to and including 31 October 2022
| Ethnicity | Dose 1 | Dose 2 | Booster 1 | Booster 1 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Māori | 768 | 36% | 850 | 41% | 8,707 | 40% | 4,475 | 25% |
| Pacific peoples | 309 | 30% | 405 | 39% | 4,105 | 39% | 1,738 | 24% |
| Asian | 942 | 26% | 1,687 | 40% | 6,035 | 44% | 4,486 | 28% |
| European or other | 5,665 | 35% | 8,582 | 42% | 21,111 | 40% | 31,131 | 24% |
Note:
- Percentage for each dose number and ethnicity group is calculated based on the number of people that responded in those groups.
Figure 2: Most frequently reporteda adverse events, percentageb by dose, up to and including 31 October 2022
Table 4: Most frequently reporteda adverse events, number and percentageb by dose, up to and including 31 October 2022
| Adverse event | Dose 1 | Dose 2 | Booster 1 | Booster 2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | Number | % | |
| Injection site reaction (pain, redness, swelling, itching at or near the injection site) | 3,310 | 10.4% | 5,057 | 18.4% | 15,364 | 15.6% | 16,913 | 9.9% |
| Headache, muscle/body aches, joint aches/pain, or chills (shivering and feeling cold) | 2,626 | 8.2% | 5,271 | 19.2% | 15,636 | 15.8% | 14,015 | 8.2% |
| Fatigue or tiredness | 2,567 | 8.0% | 4,946 | 18.0% | 15,388 | 15.6% | 13,559 | 8.0% |
| Fever/high temperature | 377 | 1.2% | 1,202 | 4.4% | 4,811 | 4.9% | 2,569 | 1.5% |
| Stomach symptoms (nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, stomach pain) | 496 | 1.6% | 872 | 3.2% | 2,601 | 2.6% | 2,105 | 1.2% |
| Rash (not at injection site) | 88 | 0.3% | 107 | 0.4% | 381 | 0.4% | 266 | 0.2% |
Notes:
- PVSC survey answers may come from one person, but that person may report more than one adverse event. As with any adverse event reports, not all symptoms reported may be caused by the vaccine; they may be coincidental and due to other causes.
- For the percentage calculations, the numerator is the number of times the reaction was reported by dose, and the denominator is the total number of participants from whom responses were received by dose.
Figure 3: People that visited a doctora after vaccination, up to and including 31 October 2022
| Less than 1 in 100 people (0.4%) reported visiting a doctor in the days after the first dose | Less than 1 in 100 people (0.6%) reported visiting a doctor in the days after the second dose | Less than 1 in 100 people (0.7%) reported visiting a doctor in the days after the first booster dose | Less than 1 in 100 people (0.2%) reported visiting a doctor in the days after the second booster dose |
|---|---|---|---|
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Note:
- The PVSC survey does not specifically ask for the reason why the person accessed medical care in the days following vaccination. Therefore, medical attendance reported may or may not be related to any adverse events reported.
