Background: Mixing vaccines was proposed as a solution to tackle supply chain interruptions during the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to investigate the safety of mixing COVID-19 vaccines for a booster dose in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted via a telephone-based interview to identify the adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination among 719 participants in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Results: In total, 45.76% of participants experienced at least one adverse event following two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. Most of the adverse events were local effects with mild symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, and/or pain at the site. In general, matching two doses in the same vaccines was not associated with the adverse events as compared to mixing vaccines (OR = 1.43, 96%CI: 0.93-2.2), except matching two doses of Pfizer (OR = 2.25, 95%CI: 1.33-3.82).
Conclusion: The findings of this study suggest the overall safety of mixed vaccination. In light of the vaccine shortage, mixing vaccinations for COVID-19 prevention is a good solution. Further studies with larger cohorts and investigating immunity following mixing vaccines are needed to elucidate the mechanism.
Keywords: COVID-19; Vietnam; adverse events; matching; mixing; vaccine.