Scientists from Scripps Research found how data from wearable sensors, such as smartwatches and fitness bands, can track a person’s physiological response to the COVID-19 vaccination.
The research is published in npj Digital Medicine and was conducted by Giorgio Quer et al.
In the study, the team analyzed sensor data on sleep, activity and heart rate from over 5,600 individuals.
They showed that the average resting heart rate of participants strongly increased the day following vaccination, peaking two days post-vaccination, and returning to normal four days after the first dose and six days after the second.
The effect appeared to be stronger after the second dose of the Moderna vaccine, compared to the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, and more pronounced in younger individuals.
In addition, the study suggests that prior COVID-19 infection was linked with a significantly higher resting heart rate increase after the first vaccine dose relative to those without prior infection.
This increase is consistent with an expected greater immune response for these individuals.
Findings also show that women experienced greater changes than men in resting heart rate in the five days following vaccination after the first dose, and that individuals under the age of 40 had higher changes in resting heart rate than older individuals, but only after the second dose.
Activity and sleep patterns appeared to be minimally affected by the first dose, but a big decrease in activity and an increase in sleep relative to baseline were observed immediately after the second vaccine dose.
The team says while the link between physiological response and immune response still requires further investigation, digital tracking could provide a novel way to identify individuals who may not be responding optimally to the vaccine.
They hope to continue to expand this research by growing our study cohort further, which will allow them to delve into important questions regarding breakthrough infections and other areas that are currently poorly understood.
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