Induced Depressive Disorder Following the First Dose of COVID-19 Vaccine

Several COVID-19 vaccines have been implemented. However, some side effects of the vaccine have been reported, which are sometimes very harmful. Reported cases and data are still very limited regarding the psychiatric side effects of the COVID-19 vaccine. To our knowledge, only one case has been reported. In this paper, we report the case of a patient who presented an acute depressive episode 24 hours after receiving his first dose of the BNT162b2mRNA vaccine.

The case was a 26-year-old man with a history of Down syndrome with moderately good autonomy for daily routine tasks. The patient, who presented hypothyroidism at 10 years old and schizophrenia at 15 years old, was doing well before the vaccination and received his first dose of the BNT162b2mRNA vaccine. Twenty-four hours later, he presented depressive symptoms that resolved spontaneously after one week. Then, fifteen days later, the symptoms reappeared, and the episode lasted for 5 weeks. The patient received 10 mg/day of escitalopram besides his usual treatment. The depressive symptoms improved considerably by the second day of treatment.

The presented case illustrated significant diagnostic challenges, especially when taking into account the sequential relationship between the COVID-19 vaccine and the occurrence of depressive symptoms. A single case of depression has been reported after the administration of the COVID-19 vaccine. Scientific evidence suggests the important role of the immune system in the pathophysiology of various psychiatric disorders, including depression.

Health professionals must take into consideration the potential psychiatric side effects even being rare so far, especially in vulnerable subjects. Further studies are required to establish the causal effects of depressive symptoms occurring during the weeks following the COVID-19 vaccine bolus injection.