Retinal Vascular Events after mRNA and Adenoviral-Vectored COVID-19 Vaccines-A Case Series.

BACKGROUND

To describe cases of retinal vascular events shortly after administration of mRNA or adenoviral-vectored COVID-19 vaccines.

DESIGN

Retrospective, multicenter case series.

METHODS

Six cases of retinal vascular events shortly after receiving COVID-19 vaccines.

RESULTS

A 38-year-old, otherwise healthy male patient presented with branch retinal arterial occlusion four days after receiving his second dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with Comirnaty (BioNTech, Mainz, Germany; Pfizer, New York City, NY, USA). An 81-year-old female patient developed visual symptoms twelve days after the second dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with Comirnaty and was diagnosed with a combined arterial and venous occlusion in her right eye. A 40-year-old male patient noticed blurry vision five days after his first dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with Comirnaty and was diagnosed with venous stasis retinopathy in his left eye. A 67-year-old male was diagnosed with non-arteritic anterior ischemic optic neuropathy in his right eye four days after receiving the first dose of Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK). A 32-year-old man presented with a sudden onset of a scotoma two days after receiving the second dose of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination with Spikevax (Moderna, Cambridge, UK) and was diagnosed with a circumscribed nerve fiber infarction. A 21-year-old female patient developed an acute bilateral acute macular neuroretinopathy three days after receiving the first dose of SARS-CoV2-vaccine Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca, Cambridge, UK).

CONCLUSION

This case series describes six cases of retinal vascular events shortly after receiving mRNA or adenoviral-vectored COVID-19 vaccines. The short time span between received vaccination and occurrence of the observed retinal vascular events raises the question of a direct correlation. Our case series adds to further reports of possible side effects with potential serious post-immunization complications of COVID-19 vaccinations.