Aarhus University Seal

Grant secures research into the side effects of the corona vaccine

Dorte Rytter and Bodil Hammer Bech, both associate professors at Aarhus University's Department of Public Health, are to investigate side effects that can be related to the new vaccines against Covid-19. They are heading a cross-disciplinary research project BiCoVac that has received DKK two million from the Trygfonden.

Are my symptoms caused by the Covid-19 vaccine I had last week? This is a question many people are likely asking themselves as they look for a causal relationship if they experience headaches, muscle pain or other – and more serious – symptoms of illness in the period after receiving a vaccination jab.

According to Dorte Rytter, when a country introduces a major vaccination programme as Denmark is currently doing, some of those who have been vaccinated will always develop symptoms around the time of the vaccination, and this can give rise to a suspicion of side effects. However, a temporal correlation between symptoms and vaccine may simply be coincidental. And this is precisely what Dorte Rytter, Bodil Hammer Bech and their research colleagues will now investigate.

The researchers will invite a total of one million randomly selected citizens between the ages of 16 and 64 to participate in the study, which consists of three questionnaires. On the basis of the responses, the researchers will be able to determine the frequency of symptoms in the general population and investigate whether the symptoms occur more frequently among people who have been vaccinated compared to those who have not been.

Contact

Associate Professor & PhD Dorte Rytter
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health
Mobile: (+45) 60 38 12 98
Email: dr@ph.au.dk 

Associate Professor & PhD Bodil Hammer Bech
Aarhus University, Department of Public Health
Mobile: (+45) 23 35 21 67
Email: bhb@ph.au.dk