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Transparent access to VAERS data for informed decision-making. We present the data as-is, with appropriate context and disclaimers.

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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. Respiratory tract congestion
COVID-19 Vaccine×Respiratory tract congestion

Respiratory tract congestion Reports for COVID-19 Vaccine

#110 most reported symptom for this vaccine

8,450
Reports
242
Deaths
1,518
Hospitalizations
2.86
Mortality Rate
%
18
Hosp. Rate
%

Respiratory tract congestion and COVID-19 Vaccine

Respiratory tract congestion has been reported 8,450 times in association with COVID-19 Vaccine vaccination in VAERS. This represents 0.8% of all 1,121,388 reports for this vaccine.

Among these reports, 242 mentioned death (2.86%) and 1,518 involved hospitalization (18.0%).

Respiratory tract congestion is the #110 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 8,450 reports of Respiratory tract congestion 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), Respiratory tract congestion appears in only 0.8% of reports.

The mortality rate of 2.86% warrants monitoring, though VAERS deaths represent temporal associations, not confirmed causal links.

Important Context

•Association, not causation: These reports show Respiratory tract congestion occurred after vaccination, not that the vaccine caused it.
•Background rates: Respiratory tract congestion 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

Body temperature increased8,502 reportsThroat tightness8,498 reportsNasal congestion8,348 reportsVaccination site erythema8,340 reports

Quick Facts

Reports:8,450
Deaths:242
Hospitalizations:1,518
% of Vaccine:0.8%
Rank:#110 of 9223

Related Pages

COVID-19 Vaccine OverviewRespiratory tract congestion (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.