New Study Links COVID-19 Vaccines to Retinal Vascular Occlusion

Emerging research shows COVID-19 vaccines are associated with an increased risk of retinal vascular occlusion (RVO), adding to the plethora of ignored safety signals following COVID vaccination.

A study published May 4 in Nature found RVO was significantly higher in the vaccinated cohort compared to the unvaccinated cohort, two years and 12 weeks after vaccination.

A retinal vein occlusion is a blockage of the small veins that carry blood away from the retina—the layer of tissue at the back of the inner eye that converts light images to nerve signals and sends them to the brain.

A blockage in an artery or vein is called an occlusion or stroke and is most often caused by the hardening of the arteries and the formation of a blood clot. The condition eventually causes blindness.

“The risk of retinal vascular occlusion significantly increased during the first 2 weeks after vaccination and persisted for 12 weeks,” the researchers wrote. “Additionally, individuals with first and second dose of BNT162b2 [Pfizer] and mRNA-1273 [Moderna] had significantly increased risk of retinal vascular occlusion 2 years following vaccination, while no disparity was detected between brand and dose of vaccines.”

The TriNetX network collected information on 7,318,437 individuals who met the inclusion criteria. After eliminating cases of COVID-19, previous RVO and those on certain medications, 745,041 vaccinated and 3,874,458 unvaccinated individuals remained.

The risk of RVO increased significantly after the first and second doses of Pfizer and Moderna.

The overall risk of RVO in the vaccinated cohort was 2.19 times higher than that in the unvaccinated cohort at two years. Additionally, at two years post-vaccination, the risk of all subtypes of RVO increased significantly in the vaccinated cohort. In addition, the risk of RVO and its subtypes were higher within 12 weeks than those at 2 years. 

The researchers concluded RVO may “not be a coincidental finding after COVID-19 vaccination.”

U.S. regulatory agencies have not responded to the new study, nor have they acknowledged mRNA vaccines like Pfizer and Moderna may cause blood clots despite more than 46,980 cases of blood clotting disorders reported to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System following COVID vaccination.