Side effects and antibody titer transition of the BNT162b2 messenger ribonucleic acid coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine in Japan

Izumo, Takehiro; Kuse, Naoyuki; Awano, Nobuyasu; Tone, Mari; Sakamoto, Keita; Takada, Kohei; Muto, Yutaka; Fujimoto, Kazushi; Saiki, Ayae; Ito, Yu; Matsumoto, Haruko; Inomata, Minoru

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has afflicted large populations worldwide. Although vaccines aroused great expectations, their side effects on Japanese people and the antibody titer transition after vaccination are unclear. METHODS: The side effects of the BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine in participants who received vaccination at our center were investigated. Some participants were also surveyed for the antibody titer transition. RESULTS: In this study, 983 and 798 Japanese participants responded to the first and second doses, respectively. Side effects occurred in 757 (77.0%) and 715 participants (90.0%) after the first and second doses, respectively. No Grade 4 side effects occurred. The second dose had significantly more side effects than the first dose (p < 0.001). Side effects occurred after the second dose in 571 female (92.1%) and 178 male participants (80.1%). Female participants had a higher incidence of side effects than the male participants (p < 0.001). A comparison among the age groups showed significant differences (p = 0.018), and the frequency of side effects decreased with age. Twenty-three individuals participated in the survey of antibody titer transition. After the second vaccine dose, the median antibody titers for IgG and IgM were 3.76 and 0.07 AU/mL, respectively. Both IgG and IgM titers showed a significant increase over the study period (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19 vaccine might be safe for Japanese people, and the antibody titer increased with two doses of vaccination. Larger nationwide studies are warranted to verify these findings.