This May 2021 file photo shows a pharmacist preparing a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine shot. (Mainichi/Daisuke Wada)

       SASEBO, Nagasaki -- Among those who received Moderna vaccine shots during workplace coronavirus inoculations conducted at a university in southwestern Japan, individuals were more likely to have side effects after their second vaccination than their first, and these reactions had subsided within three days in most cases, a survey conducted by the university has shown.

       Nagasaki International University in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, revealed the results of the survey targeting about 4,000 people that received Moderna Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccines at the institution. The university conducted its first round of vaccinations from June 21, and its second round from July 19. A total of 7,985 individuals, including students of the university and its affiliated junior college and vocational school, as well as teachers and employees, were inoculated. The respondents' ages ranged from their teens to their 60s.

       The questionnaire obtained responses from 1,877 people after the first round of inoculations and from 1,496 individuals after the second shot. Up to 82% of respondents after their first vaccine and 85% after their second said that they had experienced side effects, such as pain and swelling, in the area of injection. Furthermore, 48% of respondents suffered from fatigue, fever and other side effects over their entire bodies following their first inoculation, while 88% experienced such after their second. For both cases, a higher percentage of respondents had side effects after their second vaccine shot.

       By gender, women saw a greater proportion of individuals who experienced side effects -- both at the inoculated area and to their whole bodies -- than men. While 92% of female respondents had adverse effects affecting their whole body after the second inoculation, 80% of their male counterparts experienced such effects. There was also a tendency for minors to be more likely to develop side effects compared to adults.

       However, even in cases where side effects occurred, they subsided within three days for over 80% of respondents, for both the first and second rounds of vaccinations. There were many instances where individuals took antipyretics when they developed a fever, while those with other symptoms had recovered without taking any particular measures.

       Nagasaki International University President Yukio Ando commented, "The survey results are important references for places that will conduct workplace inoculations moving forward, and can offer accurate information about side effects to younger generations."

       (Japanese original by Hiroshi Watanuki, Sasebo Bureau)

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