Fear of side effects (including vision problems) is the primary reason many people remain hesitant to be vaccinated against the virus that causes COVID-19. However, there’s no evidence that any of the available COVID-19 vaccines cause widespread vision-related side effects.
It’s worth noting, though, that at least one isolated incident of an eye-related side effect has been reported — a health care worker in the United States experienced eye puffiness after getting a COVID-19 shot. Local safety organizations are investigating this among other rare allergic reactions to the coronavirus vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech.
Other side effects caused by the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine are “mostly mild to moderate,” according to a report published by the World Health Organization (WHO).
When side effects occurred among participants, the most common reactions were:
• Injection-site symptoms, including pain, swelling, and redness.
• Systemic symptoms such as fatigue, muscle pain, chills, joint pain, and fever.
• Other symptoms such as headache and nausea.
While COVID-19 vaccines haven’t been tied to serious vision issues, researchers have detected eye problems in a number of children with the disease itself.
One study showed nearly one-fourth of children treated for COVID-19 at a Chinese hospital in early 2020 had mild eye problems. Those problems included:
• Eye discharge
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
• Eye rubbing
• Eye pain
• Eyelid swelling
But the study was limited. Researchers reviewed the conditions of only 216 pediatric patients.
There is no evidence to date of eye problems in children from COVID vaccines
While the COVID-19 vaccines have, so far, not caused worrisome side effects related to vision, vaccines for several other conditions have been linked to eye and vision problems. Here’s a rundown of those issues:
In rare cases, some patients who’ve received the flu vaccine experienced mild symptoms like eye redness, eye pain and blurred vision.
Common side effects of the flu vaccine include:
• Soreness, redness or swelling at the injection spot
• Headache
• Fever
• Nausea
• Muscle aches
Some research has shown that optic neuritis is a rare complication from the vaccine for the measles-rubella (MR) vaccine. Optic neuritis is inflammation affecting the optic nerve that sends signals from the back of the eye to the brain.
Common side effects of the MMR vaccine include:
• Fever
• Mild rash
• Swollen cheek or neck gland
• Temporary joint pain (mostly in teenage and adult females)
Rare side effects include short-term seizures and low platelet count. In extremely rare cases, the MMR vaccine can cause deafness, long-term seizures, coma or brain damage.
One study found rare instances of corneal inflammation in children (chickenpox) and adults (shingles) after they received the zoster virus vaccine for both conditions.
Common side effects from the chickenpox vaccine include:
• Soreness and a mild rash at the injection spot
• Temporary joint pain and stiffness
• Fever
For the shingles vaccine, common side effects are:
•Soreness, redness and swelling at the injection site
• Tiredness
• Muscle pain
• Headache
• Shivering
• Fever
• Stomach pain and nausea
Around the world, measles causes as many as 60,000 cases of blindness each year, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). Other potential vision issues associated with measles include:
• Red and watery eyes triggered by pink eye (conjunctivitis)
• Keratitis and scarring of the cornea
• Retinopathy
• Optic neuritis
• Childhood blindness
The measles vaccine is the best option for preventing the disease and, therefore, preventing measles-related vision problems.
The AAO recommends that people 50 and over get the shingles vaccine to prevent an “extremely painful and disfiguring complication” called herpes zoster ophthalmicus, which can cause blindness.
If the shingles virus infects the nerves of the eye, the AAO says it can lead to:
• Eyelid rash
• Eye infection
• Conjunctivitis (pink eye)
• Corneal infection and inflammation
• Blurry vision
• Sensitivity to bright light
• Pain and swelling inside the eye
• Swelling of the optic nerve behind the eye
• Corneal breakdown requiring a cornea transplant
While various vaccines can cause, mostly mild, side effects connected to vision, there’s no scientific evidence that COVID-19 vaccines trigger eye-related side effects. Experts say the benefits of being vaccinated against COVID-19 outweigh the potential side effects.
Course: Allaboutvision
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