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 2022
221,580 adverse event reports (-71% vs 2021)
2022 Reporting Summary
In 2022, 221,580 adverse event reports were filed for COVID-19 Vaccine in VAERS. This represents 19.8% of all 1,121,388 reports for this vaccine.
Of these reports, 8,133 mentioned death, 38,360 involved hospitalization, 26,332 required ER visits, and 6,043 reported disability.
Compared to the average of 153,760 reports per year for this vaccine, 2022 was above average (+44%).
💡 What This Means
High report volume: 221,580 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 2022, raw report counts cannot indicate safety rates.
Death reports require context: 8,133 death reports does not mean the vaccine caused 8,133 deaths. VAERS accepts all reports regardless of causation. Many recipients are elderly or have comorbidities, and background mortality rates must be considered.
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.