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.
COVID-19 Vaccine in 2021
757,747 adverse event reports (+999% vs 2020)(first full year of widespread reporting)
2021 Reporting Summary
In 2021, 757,747 adverse event reports were filed for COVID-19 Vaccine in VAERS. This represents 67.6% of all 1,121,388 reports for this vaccine.
Of these reports, 12,955 mentioned death, 58,027 involved hospitalization, 99,389 required ER visits, and 13,340 reported disability.
Compared to the average of 153,760 reports per year for this vaccine, 2021 was above average (+393%).
💡 What This Means
High report volume: 757,747 reports in a single year is significant. This typically reflects large-scale vaccination campaigns rather than increased risk per dose. Without knowing total doses administered in 2021, raw report counts cannot indicate safety rates.
Death reports require context: 12,955 death reports does not mean the vaccine caused 12,955 deaths. VAERS accepts all reports regardless of causation. Many recipients are elderly or have comorbidities, and background mortality rates must be considered.
Year-over-year change: The large change from 2020 likely reflects a ramp-up in vaccination (e.g., new vaccine rollout or expanded eligibility) rather than a change in per-dose risk.
All Years for COVID-19 Vaccine
Understanding Yearly Data
Quick Facts
Related Pages
Data Source
This data comes from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), jointly managed by CDC and FDA.