The Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccines and Its Association With ABO Blood Type Among the General Surgeons in Saudi Arabia

Unfortunately Rh factor wasn’t considered in the study:

Conclusions:

Almost all participants received COVID-19 vaccines, and more than half of them received two doses of the vaccine. Three-quarters of participants reported side effects after the COVID-19 vaccination, which affected the work performance of 41% of participating general surgeons. Tiredness was the most common side effect of the vaccine, followed by severe local pain at the injection site. There was a significant relationship between the type of vaccine and the appearance of symptoms in which the percentage of participants who had symptoms was higher in those who received the Pfizer vaccine. There was a significant relationship between gender, type of vaccination, and severity of COVID-19 vaccine’s side effects, with a high proportion of females and the participants who received AstraZeneca vaccine reporting that their symptoms interfered with their work performance. However, there was no significant relationship between the appearance of symptoms and age range, gender, blood group, number of doses, and past history of COVID-19 infection. Further studies on a larger scale are recommended to further evaluate the implication of ABO blood type on COVID-19 vaccination.

Rh negative blood was mentioned in the discussion part in relation to a study already shared on this blog:

On the other hand, our study revealed that the relationship between ABO blood groups and the COVID-19 vaccine’s side effects is still insignificant. Research among a bigger sample size and a less specified group should be done to address this relationship. The idea for this question arose after reading research that looked at the relationship between the ABO and Rh blood types and infection, intubation, and mortality in 14,112 subjects who had been tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and had a known blood type at the New York-Presbyterian (NYP) Hospital system [13]. It was found that non-O types had a slightly higher infection prevalence. When compared with blood types, the risk of intubation was lower for type A and higher for types AB and B, whereas the risk of mortality was higher for type AB and lower for types A and B. They found that having Rh-negative blood had a protective role on all three outcomes [13]. This was supported by other studies such as a retrospective research conducted in China to investigate the relationship between the blood type distribution and SARS-CoV-2 infection, progression, and outcome in COVID-19 patients [14]. The blood type A population was shown to be more sensitive to SARS-CoV-2 in a study of 265 individuals from different medical sites and two established cohorts [14].

See the study:

The Side Effects of COVID-19 Vaccines and Its Association With ABO Blood Type Among the General Surgeons in Saudi Arabia