Early Adverse Effects after COVID-19 Vaccine in Children and Adolescents with Psychiatric Disorders

Objective: Vaccines for COVID-19 have reduced the severity of the infection and prevented deaths. Parents of children on psychopharmacological medications for psychiatric disorders were also referred to the hospital to learn whether the vaccine was safe for their children. It is not known until this period how chronic psychopharmacological drug use will interact with the vaccine. This study aimed to examine the early adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines in children and adolescents aged 12-18 who have chronic psychiatric disorders and use psychopharmacological medications. Method: Post-vaccine short-term effects of 88 patients aged 12-18, who were followed up in the child and adolescent psychiatry clinic due to chronic psychiatric disorders and were using psychopharmacological medications, were monitored and compared with 88 vaccinated healthy controls. Results: Of the 88 patients, 80 (90.9%) were vaccinated with BNT162b2 (BioNTech) as the healthy control group; 8 (9.1%) were with Sinovac. Seventy-six (86.3%) of all patients were vaccinated with the second, and 21 (24%) were with the third dose. These were 83-second and 26-third doses for the control group. From all 45.4% of the patients were using antipsychotics. The cases were examined on the fourth and seventh days after vaccination. While the most frequently reported adverse effects after the first BNT162b2 dose in the patient group on the fourth day after vaccination were local pain (58.8%), fatigue (16.3%), redness (12.5%), and headache (11.3%), side affects first Sinovac dose in the patient group were local pain (75.0%), redness (25.0%), fatigue (25.0%). There was no significant difference between the patient and control groups receiving the BNT162b2 or Sinovac vaccine regarding adverse ffects on the fourth day. At the same time, in comparisons between patients diagnosed with psychiatric disorders, no statistical difference was found in terms of early adverse effects between the patients with and without antipsychotic use. Discussion: Our study shows that the vaccines mentioned in children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders are as safe and tolerable in terms of short-term side effects as in healthy individuals. This knowledge will be crucial in guiding evidence-based clinical decision-making and ensuring the safety of children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders.