What You Should Know about Vaccine Injuries

Vaccines have been pivotal in enhancing human health. They have eliminated many diseases and reduced others to the point that they affect very few people every year. Modern life would be impossible without these life-saving vaccines. However, they don’t always protect – sometimes they harm. Vaccine injuries, while very rare, can be incredibly debilitating.

What Are Vaccine Injuries?

Vaccine injuries are also called vaccine adverse events. These are any adverse events caused by a vaccine/vaccination. These can be related to the vaccine, but can also be related to the vaccination method, the technician’s technique, and mistakes made during vaccination. 

How Serious Are Vaccine Injuries?

Most vaccine-adverse events are very mild. For instance, soreness around the vaccination site is considered an adverse effect. Some people also mistakenly construe other, unrelated conditions as related to vaccinations, such as autism, even though childhood vaccines do not cause autism. Serious injury, illness, and death are exceptionally rare, but they do occur. 

The Most Common Vaccine Injuries

While serious vaccine adverse events are rare, some are more common than others. 

SIRVA

Shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA) is one of the more common vaccine injuries. It usually results not from the vaccine but from the vaccination process and errors made by the technician handling the injection. The most common symptom is pain, but others include the following:

• Limited range of motion
• Muscle weakness
• Loss of strength

Over time, SIRVA can evolve into other conditions that have debilitating effects on your quality of life. For instance, it can turn into tendonitis, or even cause rotator cuff injuries. Frozen shoulder and brachial neuritis are also possible outcomes.

GBS

Flu-shot-related Guillain-Barre syndrome (GBS) is another common type of vaccine injury. This is directly related to the vaccine itself and not to the injection method or mistakes on the technician’s part. 

GBS is an autoimmune disorder and it’s been linked to two of the most commonly administered vaccines today – tetanus and the flu shot. In this condition, the body begins attacking itself, leading to initial pain in the extremities, as well as tingling and weakness in the feet and legs. In most cases, the symptoms spread inward. Many patients report additional symptoms, including difficulty breathing, loss of reflexes, and sudden changes in blood pressure.

Have You Suffered a Vaccine Injury?

While vaccines are critical tools for protecting public health, they can be dangerous for some individuals. If you’ve suffered a vaccine injury, Grewer Law Group can help fight for your rights.