Prevention and management of adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination using traditional Korean medicine: An online survey of public health doctors

Table 1 Characteristics of participants

Variable	Frequency (n = 143)	Percent (%)
Age
25-29 yr	107	74.8
30-35 yr	36	25.2
Gender
Male	143	100
Year(s) in career
1-2	65	45.5
3-4	50	35.0
5-6	20	14.0
7-8	8	5.6
General health status
Very healthy	7	4.9
Healthy	60	42.0
Fair	70	49.0
Poor	6	4.2
Very poor	0	0.0
Underlying diseases
None	138	96.5
Diseases reported (multiple answers allowed)	5	3.5
Hypertension (3), Rhinitis (1), Gout (1), Fatty liver disease (1), and Cholinergic urticaria (1)
Exposure to COVID-19
Yes	0	0.0
No	143	100.0
COVID-19 vaccination status
Vaccinated	93	65.0
Unvaccinated	50	35.0

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019.

Table 2 Adverse events from coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination

No.	Question	Frequency (n = 93)	Percent (%)
1	What type of COVID-19 vaccine have you been vaccinated?
	AstraZeneca	92	98.92
	Pfizer	1	1.08
	Moderna	0	0
	Janssen	0	0
	Novavax	0	0
	Others	0	0
2	Have you experienced any side effects?
	Yes	90	96.77
	No	3	3.23
3	If yes in 2 above, what kind of side effect have you experienced since vaccination? (multiple answers allowed)	Frequency (n = 90)
	Fatigue	61	67.78
	Muscle pain	75	83.33
	Fever	67	74.44
	Headache	45	50.00
	Pain at the injection site	65	72.22
	Joint pain	27	30.00
	Nausea	12	13.33
	Diarrhea	8	8.89
	Others	18	20.00
4	What was the severity of the side effects experienced after vaccination? (use of numerical rating scale)	Frequency (n = 90)
	None (0)	0	0.00
	Mild (1 to 3)	21	23.33
	Moderate (4 to 6)	40	44.44
	Severe (7 to 10)	29	32.22
5	How many hours did it take for side effects to occur after vaccination?	Frequency (n = 90)
	1 to 12	70	77.78
	13 to 24	20	22.22
6	How many hours did it take for the side effects to disappear after the vaccination?	Frequency (n = 90)
	1 to 24	26	28.89
	25 to 48	48	53.33
	49 to 72 h	14	15.56
	More than 72 h	2	2.22
7	Has your work been disrupted after an adverse vaccine reaction?	Frequency (n = 90)
	(Mild) treatment is not required; have no problem performing activities of daily living	45	50.00
	(Moderate) treatment may be required; have slight problems performing activities of daily living	39	43.33
	(Severe) high-level treatment is required due to severe side effects as the aftereffects remain	6	6.67

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019.

Table 3 Managing coronavirus disease 2019 adverse events

No.	Question	Frequency (n = 93)	Percent (%)
1	Was medication taken to prevent adverse reactions prior to vaccination?
	None taken	58	62.37
	Herbal medicine	14	15.05
	Western medicine	13	13.98
	Both	8	8.60
2	How did you treat side effects after vaccination? (multiple choices are available)	Frequency (n = 90)
	No response	23	25.56
	Herbal medicine	52	57.78
	Western medicine	38	42.22
3	If you have taken medication after vaccination, how long have you been taking the medication? (regardless of the type)	Frequency (n = 90)
	None taken	24	26.67
	1 to 2 d	57	63.33
	More than 2 d	9	10.00
4	Did you use any Korean medicine modalities other than herbal medicine to treat side effects after vaccination?	Frequency (n = 90)
	Yes	3	3.33
	No	87	96.67
5	If yes in 5 above, which treatment other than herbal medicine did you receive for the COVID-19 side effects? (multiple answers allowed)	Frequency (n = 3)
	Acupuncture treatment	3	100.00
	Moxibustion treatment	0	0.00
	Cupping therapy	0	0.00
	Pharmacopuncture	0	0.00
	Chuna manual therapy	0	0.00
	Others	0	0.00

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019.

Table 4 Recommendation of using Korean medicine for potential coronavirus disease 2019 adverse events

No.	Question	Frequency (n = 93)	Percent (%)
1	Do you recommend taking herbal medicine in advance to prevent side effects from the COVID-19 vaccination?
	Highly recommend	24	25.81
	Recommend	33	35.48
	Neutral	29	31.18
	Not recommend	7	7.53
	Not recommend at all	0	0
2	If you are recommending for the prevention of side effects from the COVID-19 vaccination, which herbal medicine do you recommend? (multiple answers allowed)
	Not recommend	15	26.32
	Recommend with specific herbal medicine	19	33.33
	No response	35	61.40
3	Would you recommend Korean medicine treatment for potential side effects from the COVID-19 vaccination?
	Highly recommend	20	22.22
	Recommend	35	38.89
	Neutral	31	34.44
	Not recommend	3	3.33
	Not recommend at all	1	1.11
	No response	3	3.33
4	If it is helpful, which treatment do you recommend among Korean medicine treatments? (multiple answers allowed)
	Herbal medicine treatment	69	74.19
	Acupuncture treatment	19	20.43
	Moxibustion treatment	7	7.53
	Cupping therapy	4	4.30
	Pharmacopuncture	2	2.15
	Chuna manual therapy	4	4.30
5	Do you think Korean medicine treatment is helpful for the people in the case of adverse reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine?
	Strongly Agree	27	29.03
	Agree	43	46.24
	Neutral	20	21.51
	Disagree	3	3.23
	Strongly Disagree	0	0.00

COVID-19: Coronavirus disease 2019.