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

doi:10.12998/wjcc.v10.i28.10053

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World Journal of Clinical Cases

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World J Clin Cases. Oct 6, 2022; 10(28): 10053-10065
Published online Oct 6, 2022. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.v10.i28.10053

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

Byungsoo Kang, Hongmin Chu, Bo-Young Youn, Jungtae Leem

Byungsoo Kang, College of Korean Medicine, Dongshin University, Naju-si 58245, South Korea

Hongmin Chu, Daecheong Public Health Subcenter, Ongjin Public Healthcenter, Incheon 23105, Incheon, South Korea

Bo-Young Youn, Department of Preventive Medicine, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 02447, South Korea

Jungtae Leem, College of Korean Medicine, Wonkwang University, Iksan 54538, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea

Author contributions: Kang B and Leem J conceptualized the manuscript and contributed to data curation; Chu H and Kang B contributed to methodology and original drafting of the manuscript; Youn B reviewed the writing and contributed to manuscript drafting; all authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript.

Supported by National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korea, No. 2022R1C1C200873811.

Institutional review board statement: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of College of KM of Wonkwang University for the online survey protocol (WKIRB-202104-SB-022). Participants were recruited by the association and encouraged to read the questionnaire carefully.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

Data sharing statement: The data used for this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Corresponding author: Jungtae Leem, KMD&PhD, Professor, College of Korean Medicine, Wonkwang University, 460, Iksan-daero, Sin-dong, Iksan, Jeollabuk-do, South Korea. julcho@naver.com

Received: April 5, 2022
Peer-review started: April 5, 2022
First decision: June 7, 2022
Revised: June 14, 2022
Accepted: August 22, 2022
Article in press: August 22, 2022
Published online: October 6, 2022
Processing time: 175 Days and 5.9 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Since February 2021, vaccination against coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has started in Korea.

AIM

To perform a questionnaire survey about the prevention and management of adverse events of COVID-19 vaccination among public health doctors of Korean Medicine (PHKMDs).

METHODS

An online questionnaire was developed, comprising categories about adverse events of vaccination (AEVs) and perception of using Korean medicine (KM) in managing vaccine adverse events (AEs) among PHKMDs. PHKMDs’ experience of AEVs, usage of Korean medicine for AEVs, and perception and attitude in using KM for AEVs were surveyed. The survey web-link was emailed to the association of PHKMDs. Online links were sent through Survey Monkey to all PHKMDs in Korea.

RESULTS

A total of 143 participants were recruited for this study; 65% of participants were vaccinated at the same of the survey (n = 93). Although most participants did not take any medication for prevention of the adverse events, 62% (n = 58) of participants had taken herbal medicine to treat the adverse events (n = 52). Approximately 35% of participants (n = 33) said that they would recommend taking herbal medicine to prevent any AEVs. From various KM interventions, the participants strongly recommended taking an herbal medicine (n = 69, 74.19%) to treat AEs, and the second-highest was acupuncture treatment (n = 19, 20.43%).

CONCLUSION

Overall, this research demonstrated a high prevalence of KM usage by the PHKMDs. Hence, this study's results may serve as fundamental evidence for health professionals to consider using KM treatments when treating or preventing AEVs in the near future.

Keywords: COVID-19; Vaccination; Adverse events; Herbal medicine; Korean medicine

Core Tip: This study is the first to conduct a survey of traditional medicine doctors engaged in public health works regarding the prevention and management of adverse events utilizing traditional medicine modalities before and after the coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination.