Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34774045›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2021

Utilization of health care services before and after media attention about fatal side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine: a nation-wide register-based event study.

Vilde Bergstad Larsen, Mari Grøsland, Kjetil Telle, Karin Magnusson

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Does timing matter? The role of health information shocks in measuring willingness to pay.The European journal of health economics : HEPAC : health economics in prevention and care · 2025
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Vilde Bergstad Larsen *Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Cluster for Health Services Research, Postboks 222, Skøyen, N-0213, Oslo, Norway. VildeBergstad.Larsen@fhi.no.
Mari Grøsland *Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Cluster for Health Services Research, Postboks 222, Skøyen, N-0213, Oslo, Norway.
Kjetil TelleNorwegian Institute of Public Health, Cluster for Health Services Research, Postboks 222, Skøyen, N-0213, Oslo, Norway.
Karin MagnussonNorwegian Institute of Public Health, Cluster for Health Services Research, Postboks 222, Skøyen, N-0213, Oslo, Norway.
Norwegian Institute of Public Health · NOLund University · SE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSurvey studies have found that vaccinated persons tend to report more side effects after being given information about side effects rather than benefits. However, the impact of high media attention about vaccine-related side effects on the utilization of health care is unknown. We aimed to assess whether utilization of health care services for newly vaccinated health care workers changed after media attention about fatal side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine on March 11th, 2021, and whether changes differed by age, sex, or occupation.

methodsWe utilized individual-level data on health care use, vaccination, employment, and demographics available in the Norwegian emergency preparedness register Beredt C19. In all 99,899 health care workers in Norway who were vaccinated with AstraZeneca between February 11th and March 11th, we used an event-study design with a matched comparison group to compare the change in primary and inpatient specialist care use from 14 days before to 14 days after the information shock on March 11th, 2021.

resultsPrimary health care use increased with 8.2 daily consultations per 1000 health care workers (95% CI 7.51 to 8.89) the week following March 11th for those vaccinated with AstraZeneca (n = 99,899), compared with no increase for the unvaccinated comparison group (n = 186,885). Utilization of inpatient care also increased with 0.8 daily hospitalizations per 1000 health care workers (95% CI 0.37 to 1.23) in week two after March 11th. The sharpest increase in daily primary health care use in the first week after March 11th was found for women aged 18-44 (10.6 consultations per 1000, 95% CI 9.52 to 11.68) and for cleaners working in the health care sector (9.8 consultations per 1000, 95% CI 3.41 to 16.19).

conclusionsHealth care use was higher after the media reports of a few cases of fatal or severe side effects of the AstraZeneca vaccine. Our results suggest that the reports did not only lead vaccinated individuals to contact primary health care more, but also that physicians referred and treated more cases to specialist care after the new information.

Indexed as

COVID-19VaccinesAttentionDelivery of Health CareFemaleHumansVaccinationVaccinesCOVID-19Drug side effectsHealth care seeking behaviorHealth communicationVaccine

Identifiers

PMID34774045
PMCPMC8590367
OpenAlexW3212108634

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.