Flu Shots Can Cause Shoulder Injuries

This flu season, hundreds of millions of people will obtain their influenza vaccine. Most will obtain their vaccines at local pharmacies, from their employer, and from their family doctor's office. The most common adverse event or injury from routine flu shots is a shoulder injury from the improper placement of the vaccine. This is called "SIRVA," or shoulder injury related to vaccine administration and it is the number one injury that is compensated in the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. The medical and scientific literature confirms that SIRVA is due to an inflammatory response from vaccine administration into the subdeltoid bursa. This inflammatory response is due either to the antigenic or nonantigenic components of the vaccine. The literature suggests that SIRVA presentations are consistent with the presentations of adhesive capsulitis (as demonstrated by the patient's pain, lack of motion, weakness, and impaired mobility/functionality) and multiple noted pathologies on imaging, more than would be expected by the trauma of vaccination. Approximately 70% of cases are flu shot shoulder injuries which are most commonly administered to adults. The flu shot is the most common culprit simply because the sheer volume of flu shots administered to the general public year after year. It is important to note that any vaccine that is administered improperly can cause a SIRVA injury. Recent scientific studies on the topic, including Bodor and Montalvo in 2006, Atanasoff in 2010 and Barnes in 2012, indicated that weakness and pain in the shoulder following influenza and other vaccinations was caused by the vaccines being administered too high in the deltoid muscle. In order to avoid SIRVA, they concluded that the upper third of the deltoid or shoulder muscle should not be used for vaccine injections. The literature suggests that doctors must consider SIRVA as part of the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with acute shoulder pain after vaccine administration. The growing number of cases and events reported to VAERS (the vaccine adverse event reporting database) serve as a reminder for what may be an underreported condition. This underreporting may be due, in part, to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System being a passive reporting mechanism or to concerns for medicolegal implications for reporting. Today, the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program recognizes a causal connection between vaccines and SIRVA if a person experiences pain within 48 hours of receiving a vaccination and that pain continues to manifest for at least 6 months. If you or a loved one has experienced prolonged shoulder pain after a recent flu shot or other vaccine, please contact our vaccine attorney who can discuss the prospects of your particular case. [Click here to see if you are eligible for compensation][1] [1]: https://www.vaccineawarenesscenter.com/contact/