Important: VAERS reports alone cannot determine if a vaccine caused an adverse event. Reports may contain incomplete, inaccurate, or unverified information. Correlation does not equal causation.
Vaccines, like all medical interventions, carry a small risk of adverse reactions. This page covers what VAERS data shows about serious adverse events, how the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program works, and how to interpret injury data.
A vaccine injury is a health problem that is caused or significantly worsened by a vaccine. It's important to distinguish between:
VAERS captures adverse events — not confirmed vaccine injuries. The difference matters enormously for interpreting the data.
While rare, some adverse events have been established as genuine vaccine injuries through scientific research:
The U.S. has a no-fault compensation system for vaccine injuries:
Since 1988, the VICP has paid over $5 billion in compensation for approximately 10,000 claims — out of billions of vaccine doses administered. Most compensated claims are settled cases, not admissions that a vaccine caused the injury.
VAERS reports 143,653 hospitalizations and 37,185 disability reports across all vaccines over 35 years. These raw numbers seem large, but context matters:
If you believe you or someone you know has experienced a vaccine injury: