They collected data about the demographics and clinical parameters of migraine severity, COVID-19 infection, vaccination, and characteristics of headaches following vaccination. Out of 841 migraine patients filling in the questionnaire, 66.47% and 60.15% patients experienced a headache attack (from 1 hour to 7 days) after the first and the second vaccine dose, respectively. The main finding concerns headaches perceived by 57.60% of patients: attacks following vaccination were referred to as more severe (50.62% of patients), long-lasting (52.80% of patients) and hardwearing (49.69% of patients) compared to the usually experienced migraine attacks. This could be related to the production of inflammatory mediators such as type Iβ interferon. Considering the high prevalence of migraine in the general population, awareness of the possibility of headaches worsening following COVID-19 vaccination in these patients may allow both patients and clinicians to face this clinical entity with conscious serenity, and to reduce the waste of resources towards inappropriate health-care.
Silvestro M, Tessitore A, Orologio I, Sozio P, Napolitano G, Siciliano M, Tedeschi G, Russo A. Headache Worsening after COVID-19 Vaccination: An Online Questionnaire-Based Study on 841 Patients with Migraine. J Clin Med. 2021 Dec 16;10(24):5914.
doi: 10.3390/jcm10245914