COVID-19 Vaccine Safety Reporting Systems

What to know

  • Hundreds of millions of people in the United States have safely received COVID-19 vaccinations.
  • COVID-19 vaccines used in the response to the pandemic underwent the most intensive safety monitoring in U.S. history. Safety monitoring used established systems.
  • CDC provides timely updates on selected adverse events (any side effect or health problem after vaccination that is concerning to you, even if you are not sure if the vaccine caused the event) reported to VAERS after COVID-19 vaccination.

Monitoring process

After a vaccine is authorized or approved for use, vaccine safety systems monitor adverse events (rare health conditions) and watch for potential safety problems.

COVID-19 vaccines have undergone the most extensive safety analysis in U.S. history. The U.S. FDA COVID-19 Vaccines website includes important recommendations for ongoing safety evaluations after any COVID-19 vaccine is made available under Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) or receives full FDA approval.

Monitoring systems

The following system and information sources were developed during the COVID-19 pandemic. They add an additional layer of safety monitoring, giving CDC and FDA the ability to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine safety in real time and make sure COVID-19 vaccines are as safe as possible.

General public

People who are pregnant

Members of the military

Veterans

Tribal nations