A new study has found no link between the occurrence of retinal vein occlusions (RVOs) following messenger RNA (mRNA) COVID-19 vaccinations.
The study said many case reports describe RVO occurring in patients within days of COVID-19 vaccination that manifests clinically with variable vision loss, scotomas, and blurred vision.1
But first author Ian Dorney, from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, said the large cohort study found no association between the first mRNA COVID-19 vaccinations and acute RVO.
“The mRNA COVID-19 vaccine has played a crucial role in controlling the ongoing pandemic. However, vaccine hesitancy and fear of adverse events from the vaccine remain a major national health concern,” the study authors said.
Therefore, thorough research into adverse events after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination is of great scientific interest and importance to public health, they said.
Of more than three million patients receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, 0.003% of patients had a new diagnosis of RVO within 21 days
The investigators sought to determine how often patients are diagnosed with new RVO acutely after the first mRNA COVID-19 vaccine compared with other very commonly administered vaccines, such as the influenza vaccine and the tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis (Tdap) vaccines.
The data from the electronic health records of more than 103 million patients in the United States were searched for the presence of vaccination codes and instances of newly diagnosed RVO within 21 days of vaccination,
Of more than three million patients receiving the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine, 0.003% of patients had a new diagnosis of RVO within 21 days. The authors said that was not significantly different from the risk of other vaccines.
The authors concluded that RVO diagnosed acutely after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination occurred extremely rarely at rates similar to those of two different historically used vaccinations, the influenza and Tdap vaccines. Therefore, no evidence suggesting an association between the mRNA COVID-19 vaccination and newly diagnosed RVO was found.
Reference
- Dorney I., Shaia J., Kaelber D.C., et al., Risk of new retinal vascular occlusion after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination within aggregated electronic health record data. JAMA Ophthalmol. Published online 13 April 2023. doi:10.1001/jamaophthalmol.2023.0610.
