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Data source: VAERS (Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System)

Data through 2026 · Updated quarterly

Built by TheDataProject.ai · © 2026 VaccineWatch

Important: VAERS accepts reports of adverse events following vaccination. For any given report, there is no certainty that the reported event was caused by the vaccine. Reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. Most reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This data cannot be used to determine if vaccines cause or contribute to adverse events.

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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.

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  3. COVID-19 Vaccine
  4. Pleural effusion
COVID-19 Vaccine×Pleural effusion

Pleural effusion Reports for COVID-19 Vaccine

#312 most reported symptom for this vaccine

2,018
Reports
416
Deaths
1,680
Hospitalizations
20.61
Mortality Rate
%
83.3
Hosp. Rate
%

Pleural effusion and COVID-19 Vaccine

Pleural effusion has been reported 2,018 times in association with COVID-19 Vaccine vaccination in VAERS. This represents 0.2% of all 1,121,388 reports for this vaccine.

Among these reports, 416 mentioned death (20.61%) and 1,680 involved hospitalization (83.3%).

Pleural effusion is the #312 most frequently reported symptom for COVID-19 Vaccine out of 9223 total symptoms.

Disclaimer: VAERS reports describe events that occurred after vaccination but do not establish that the vaccine caused the event. Many reported symptoms may be coincidental or related to underlying conditions.

What This Means

Seeing 2,018 reports of Pleural effusion after COVID-19 Vaccine vaccination may seem alarming, but context is critical. With 1,121,388 total reports for this vaccine (representing many millions of doses), Pleural effusion appears in only 0.2% of reports.

The 20.61% mortality rate among these reports is elevated, but this reflects the severity of the condition itself rather than vaccine causation.

Important Context

•Association, not causation: These reports show Pleural effusion occurred after vaccination, not that the vaccine caused it.
•Background rates: Pleural effusion may occur naturally at baseline rates in the population, unrelated to vaccination.
•Anyone can report: VAERS accepts reports from anyone — patients, parents, healthcare providers — without requiring medical verification.
•Denominator missing: VAERS counts reports, not rates per dose. Without knowing how many doses were given, raw counts can be misleading. Learn more →

Similarly Ranked Symptoms

Guillain-Barre syndrome2,031 reportsAngiogram pulmonary abnormal2,025 reportsOcular hyperaemia2,014 reportsComputerised tomogram head abnormal2,014 reports

Quick Facts

Reports:2,018
Deaths:416
Hospitalizations:1,680
% of Vaccine:0.2%
Rank:#312 of 9223

Related Pages

COVID-19 Vaccine OverviewPleural effusion (All Vaccines)Why Raw Numbers MisleadTop Symptoms Analysis

Data Source

This data comes from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), jointly managed by CDC and FDA.