As of Sept. 27, 2021 there were 569,294 adverse event reports associated with COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S., according to the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
The most common disorders reported after COVID-19 vaccinations in the U.S. include temperature-related issues (226,457), skin problems (174,793), and a category that includes movement, muscle, nerve, neuropathy, numbness, and paralysis (164,200).
That’s according to an original analysis of the federal Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS).
Next in line are non-specified pain-related issues (139,395), feeling abnormal, tired or weak (139,395), injection site reactions (121,538), headaches (111,549), heart events (79,012), and lung or respiratory problems (77,976).
Abdominal problems (40,415), getting COVID-19 after vaccination (34,589), and blood clots or bleeding, including in the heart and brain (32,023), are also common among the VAERS reports.
So are product issues (29,661) and mood or memory problems (31,720).
As of Sept. 27, 2021 there were 569,294 adverse event reports associated with COVID-19 vaccination in the U.S., with a total of 2,433,730 symptoms reported.
Report an adverse event after vaccination online here.
Each symptom reported does not necessarily equal one patient. Adverse event reports often include multiple symptoms for a single patient.
Reporting of illnesses and symptoms that occur after COVID-19 vaccination does not necessarily mean they were caused by the vaccine. The system is designed to collect adverse events that occur after vaccination to uncover any patterns of illnesses that were not captured during vaccine studies.
Read CDC info on COVID-19 vaccine here.
Reports can be made by doctors, patients or family members and/or acquaintances, or vaccine industry representatives.
Scientists have estimated that adverse events occur at a rate manyfold higher than what is reported in VAERS, since it is assumed that most adverse events are not reported through the tracking system.
Read: Exclusive summary: COVID-19 vaccine concerns.
However, some observers claim COVID-19 vaccine adverse events are not as likely to be underreported as those associated with other medicine, due to close monitoring and widespread publicity surrounding COVID-19 vaccination.
Approximately 391 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been given in the U.S. to 185 million people. It’s estimated about 56% of the population is fully vaccinated. This is not believed to include more than one million people who crossed the border illegally so far this year.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the benefits of COVID-19 vaccine outweigh the risks for all groups and age categories authorized to receive it.
The following is a summary of health alerts issued in the U.S. or around the world, and how the adverse events reported in the VAERS database fit in. That’s followed by a list broken down into 78 groupings of common categories of side effects reported.
