[Subjective well-being and ability to work of hospital staff after SARS-CoV2 immunization with the mRNA vaccine BNT162b2].

Background:  Since December 27, 2020, employees of the health system in Germany have been vaccinated against the SARS coronavirus-2 with the vaccine BNT162B2. Initial observations show that especially among younger vaccinated people side effects are common. In this study, using the example of clinic employees, the self-perceived well-being after the first and second dose of the vaccine was examined.

Methods:  Anonymized online questionnaire to be filled out once by all employees after the second dose of BNT162B2 was offered. The severity of side effects was queried using an ordinal numerical rating scale with values between 0 and 10. Other key data points were age, gender, and occupational group. The ability to work in the days following the injections was recorded by self-reporting.

Results:  Data from 555 respondents were evaluated. The mean age was 40.25 years (standard deviation 12.35). 56 % of the respondents were female, 44.3 % belonged to the medical service, 42.9 % to the nursing service and 12.8 % were assigned to other professional groups with COVID-19 patient contact. Around 2 % of all employees did not experience any side effects at all. The most common side effect was pain at the injection site. Fatigue, headaches and myalgia followed with decreasing frequency. After the first dose, ¾ of the respondents said they had tolerated the vaccination well overall, after the second dose it was only half. After the first dose, over 90 % of the respondents felt that they were able to work again on the following day, after the second dose one third stated that they were only able to work again on the second day. 2.2 % of all employees had to report that they were unable to work for at least one day after the first dose and 19.5 % after the second dose.

Conclusions:  Vaccination with BNT162B2 frequently leads to side effects, especially after the second dose. Perception of side effects resulted in 19 % of those questioned being sick after the second dose. Nevertheless, 95 % of all respondents would choose a coronavirus vaccination again.