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. 2022 Jul 11:10:952781.
doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.952781. eCollection 2022.

Oral Adverse Events Following COVID-19 Vaccination: Analysis of VAERS Reports

Abanoub Riad  1 , Ave Põld  2 , Elham Kateeb  3   4 , Sameh Attia  5
Affiliations

Oral Adverse Events Following COVID-19 Vaccination: Analysis of VAERS Reports

Abanoub Riad et al. Front Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Oral adverse events (AEs) following COVID-19 vaccination have been sporadically reported during the previous months, warranting further investigation for their prevalence and suspected relationship with vaccine-elicited immune response.

Methods: A retrospective analysis using the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) data was conducted to evaluate AEs within the oral cavity (mucosa, tongue, lips, palate, dentition, salivary glands) and AEs involving taste and other sensations. Oral AEs reported after receiving COVID-19 vaccination (test group) and seasonal influenza vaccination (control group) were extracted and cross-tabulated to assess their relative prevalence.

Results: Among the 128 solicited (suspected) oral AEs, oral paresthesia (0.872%) was most reported after receiving COVID-19 vaccines, followed by the swelling of lips (0.844%), ageusia (0.722%), oral hypoesthesia (0.648%), swollen tongue (0.628%), and dysgeusia (0.617%). The reported prevalence of oral AEs was higher in the COVID-19 vaccine group than in the seasonal influenza group. The distribution pattern of the most reported oral AEs was similar for both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza vaccines. Female sex, older age (>39 years old), primer doses, and mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines exhibited a higher reported prevalence of oral AEs.

Conclusion: Within the limitations of this study, COVID-19 vaccines were found to be associated with rare oral AEs that are predominantly similar to those emerging following seasonal influenza vaccines. The most commonly reported oral AEs were oral paraesthesia (mouth-tingling), lip swelling, and ageusia, representing various pathophysiologic pathways that remain unclear. Taste-related AEs should be acknowledged in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public should be adequately informed about a potential taste dysfunction after receiving the COVID-19 vaccination. Dentists and dental teams need to be aware of the prevalence, severity, and prognosis of oral AEs to inform their patients and increase public confidence in vaccines.

Keywords: COVID-19 vaccines; anaphylaxis; drug-related side effects and adverse reactions; oral manifestations; pharmacovigilance oral adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination 2.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Anatomo-physiological Scheme of Oral Adverse Events Following Immunization (AEFI); created in BioRender.com.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Top twenty oral adverse events reported after (A) COVID-19 and (B) Seasonal Influenza Vaccination in the United States, January–December 2021 (CDC; VAERS-WONDER).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Top twenty oral adverse events reported after COVID-19 vaccination in the United States stratified by (A) Sex and (B) Age Group, January–December 2021 (CDC; VAERS-WONDER).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Top twenty oral adverse events reported after COVID-19 vaccination in the United States stratified by (A) Dose and (B) Vaccine Brand, January–December 2021 (CDC; VAERS-WONDER).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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