Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2022 Sep;11(9):5041-5054.
doi: 10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_747_22. Epub 2022 Oct 14.

Ocular adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines: A systematic review

Shalini Kumari  1 , Raj Anand  2 , Bhumika Sambyal  3 , Yudhyavir Singh  4 , Pradeep Rangappa  5 , Simant Kumar Jha  6
Affiliations
Review

Ocular adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccines: A systematic review

Shalini Kumari et al. J Family Med Prim Care. 2022 Sep.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the development and rollout of several vaccines worldwide at unprecedented pace. This systematic review of published literature has been undertaken to spread awareness among general physicians and ophthalmologists about the various reported adverse effects in the eye following COVID-19 vaccination. A systematic search was performed on 25 January 2022 through PuBMed, Medline and Google scholar for publications on ocular adverse effects after COVID-19 vaccination. One brief communication, four retrospective case series, sixteen case reports, and five letters to editors were included. Ocular manifestations most commonly appear in the uvea and retina. Other manifestations are seen on the eyelid, cornea and ocular surface, and in cranial nerves innervating the eye. The incidence rate of these manifestations is quite low after COVID-19 vaccinations. Our systematic review meticulously enumerates various adverse effects of COVID -19 vaccine on the eye. Most of these adverse effects are transient and observed to resolve without any sequelae except for cases of retinal and ophthalmic vascular occlusions and corneal graft rejections. An emphasis on close follow-up and a need to delay vaccination and modified therapy to control flare up of signs and symptoms in certain sub-populations, Graves' disease (autoimmune etiology), pre-existing uveal inflammation and corneal graft cases are warranted. We need long-term, larger, multicentric studies to substantiate our findings and establish the causal relationship with certainty. Mass vaccinations to curb this pandemic after outweighing the ocular risks associated with it is warranted.

Keywords: COVID-19; Cornea; SARS-COV-2; coronavirus; eye; eyelid; neuropathy; ocular adverse effects; retinopathy; uvea; vaccination.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

There are no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flowchart for selection of studies
Figure 2
Figure 2
Compound bar diagram showing adverse events after covid-19 vaccination in males and females
Figure 3
Figure 3
Pie chart showing adverse outcome in eye after covid-19 vaccination
Figure 4
Figure 4
Compound bar diagram showing adverse outcome in different parts of eye with different types of COVID-19 vaccines
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. [Last accessed on 2022 Jan 25]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019ncov/vaccines/differentvaccines/Moder... .
    1. [Last accessed on 2022 Jan 25]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/m/item/draft-landscape-of-covid-19-cand... .
    1. [Last accessed on 2022 Jan 25]. Available from: https://www.mohfw.gov.in/covid_vaccination/
    1. Moher D, Liberati A, Tetzlaff J, Altman D G. Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses: The PRISMA statement. BMJ. 2009;339:b2535. - PMC - PubMed
    1. JAMA Network Open—Instructions for Authors: Ratings of the Quality of the Evidence. [Last accessed on 2022 Jan 25]. Available from: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/pages/instructions-for-... .