No vaccine is 100% safe and effective. Although the vaccines have Emergency Use Authorization, full FDA approval has been slow coming. With that said there have been reported a number of side effects of the Covid 19 vaccine and Covid 19 infection
Ocular side effects were reported in 74 individuals and included
- facial nerve palsy,
- abducens nerve palsy,
- corneal graft rejection,
- acute macular neuroretinopathy,
- uveitis,
- superior ophthalmic vein thrombosis,
- central serous chorioretinopathy,
- Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada reactivation, and
- Graves orbitopathy (thyroid eye disease).
These reported side effects are similar to ocular manifestations reported with the COVID-19 infection, so there may be a common pathway between the immune-mediated response to the vaccine and the virus itself.
Many of these side effects can effectively be treated or spontaneously resolve. Even with these side effects, the benefits of vaccination appear in general to outweigh the risks.