The Eye of the Storm: COVID-19 Vaccination and the Eye.

The COVID-19 pandemic has galvanized the global response towards the development of new vaccines based on novel technologies at an unprecedented pace. Since the widespread implementation of vaccination campaigns, case reports on vaccines' systemic side effects, including ocular manifestations, have emerged. Since administered vaccines are generally not able to cause the disease in the recipient, or induce an immune response against the pathogen, we hypothesize that the development of ocular phenomena post-COVID-19 vaccination may occur via an immune response elicited by the vaccine. Of many, the most common ocular adverse events include facial nerve palsy, central venous sinus thrombosis and acute anterior uveitis. These COVID-19 vaccine-induced ocular (CVIO) adverse events could resemble the ocular findings in some of the COVID-19 patients. This review will provide a comprehensive overview of published ocular side effects potentially associated with COVID-19 vaccination and serve as a springboard for further research into CVIO adverse events.

Ocular Adverse Events After COVID-19 Vaccination.

PURPOSE: The COVID-19 pandemic has galvanized the development of new vaccines at an unprecedented pace. Since the widespread implementation of vaccination campaigns, reports of ocular adverse effects after COVID-19 vaccinations have emerged. This review summarizes ocular adverse effects possibly associated with COVID-19 vaccination, and discusses their clinical characteristics and management. METHODS: Narrative Literature Review. RESULTS: Ocular adverse effects of COVID-19 vaccinations include facial nerve palsy, abducens nerve palsy, acute macular neuroretinopathy, central serous retinopathy, thrombosis, uveitis, multiple evanescent white dot syndrome, Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease reactivation, and new-onset Graves' Disease. Studies in current literature are primarily retrospective case series or isolated case reports - these are inherently weak in establishing association or causality. Nevertheless, the described presentations resemble the reported ocular manifestations of the COVID-19 disease itself. Hence, we hypothesize that the human body's immune response to COVID-19 vaccinations may be involved in the pathogenesis of the ocular adverse effects post-COVID-19 vaccination. CONCLUSION: Ophthalmologists and generalists should be aware of the possible, albeit rare, ocular adverse effects after COVID-19 vaccination.