Some people after COVID-19 vaccination may suffer from SIRVA – an underreported and preventable side effect. It is possible for vaccinations of any kind to cause redness, swelling, and pain.

These are common side effects of vaccines and part of the body’s immunity-building process.

In certain situations, patients experience pain if a healthcare worker injects the vaccination into the shoulder wrongly. This can result in severe inflammation and a reduction in the range of motion of the shoulder.

Following the COVID-19 immunization, a person may have shoulder pain for two reasons.

It could be a typical injection site reaction. As US CDC estimates, about 85 percent of individuals experienced redness, swelling, and pain at the injection site within seven days of receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine.

While reactions differ depending on the vaccine, it is common for people to suffer discomfort and inflammation after receiving the vaccine. The majority of these common localized reactions are short-lived and moderate.

After getting the COVID-19 vaccine, some people may have more severe shoulder pain.

If a medical expert gives the injection incorrectly, the shoulder joint may be injured, resulting in discomfort and swelling. SIRVA, which stands for shoulder injury related to vaccine administration, is a term used by doctors to explain this.

It is possible to get SIRVA after receiving any vaccine. The problem is not caused by the vaccine itself; rather, it is caused by the way the vaccine is administered.

SIRVA develops when a vaccine is injected too high or too deep into the shoulder by a healthcare provider. It’s an underreported and avoidable occurrence.

Shoulder injections should usually go into the deltoid muscle. An incorrectly delivered shot, on the other hand, can graze a bone or nerve. It could potentially pierce the bursa, a fluid-filled sac that protects the shoulder tendons.

When this happens, a person may have instant pain and difficulty moving their shoulder. Symptoms, on the other hand, may take hours or days to show.

An individual may acquire shoulder conditions such as a rotator cuff tear, bursitis, or tendinitis over time, causing extreme pain.

There have been few reports of SIRVA with the COVID-19 vaccination. However, because the injury is often underreported, it’s difficult to say how common SIRVA with the COVID-19 vaccine is.

SIRVA has been reported in persons who received a COVID-19 shot in several case reports.

Two incidences of SIRVA were reported in a 2021 report following the administration of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines.

Another complaint from 2021 stated that a 52-year-old Thai man suffered from shoulder pain and restricted range of motion three days after receiving the Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine. He was diagnosed with bursitis, which was easily treated.

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