Monitoring Adverse Events Following Immunizations

An adverse event following immunization (AEFI) is an unexpected medical event following immunization. It is not necessarily caused by the vaccine. Adverse events can range from mild symptoms, such as a rash, to more severe such as enlarged lymph nodes or meningitis. An AEFI can be serious (life-threatening) or non-serious. Both should be carefully monitored and be sure to consult your supervisor if you record an AEFI.

The main causes of AEFI are: vaccine reaction, immunization error reaction, immunization anxiety reaction and coincidental event. Now let us look at each of these in detail. A vaccine reaction can be because either your body doesn't respond well to one of the ingredients or the vaccine has been compromised. An immunization error reaction is when a human error occurs during vaccine administration. These are preventable AEFIs. Immunization anxiety reactions may happen because of fear of injection or anxiety about the vaccine. A coincidental event may occur when someone experiences a health reaction right after getting vaccinated, but it is not related to receiving the vaccine.

To help prevent fainting and injuries that could occur from a fall and to monitor for other possible adverse reactions, vaccinated individuals should stay seated for about 15 minutes after vaccination.

If an adverse event occurs, it can be detected by either the patient or the healthcare worker. Thus, you must provide information to the patient on what to expect and how to identify an AEFI. If an AEFI is detected, it has to be notified to the health system, which can be done by the patient or by the health worker. All AEFIs need to be reported.

After an adverse event is detected, it must be notified and reported by accurately filling out a COVID-19 reporting form and sending it to your supervisor. When completing a reporting form please include all information about the vaccine, the recipient, and a description of the event to the best of your knowledge.