Association of Cardiovascular Events with COVID-19 Vaccines using Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS): A Retrospective Study

Abstract

Background:: COVID-19 vaccines have played a crucial role in reducing the burden of the global pandemic. However, recent case reports have indicated the association of the COVID- 19 vaccines with cardiovascular events but the exact association is unclear so far. Objective:: Therefore, the objective of the current study is to find out the association of cardiovascular events with COVID-19 vaccines. Methods:: The COVID-19 Vaccine Knowledge Base (Cov19VaxKB) tool was used to query the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) database. The proportional reporting ratio [PRR (≥2)] with associated chi-squared value (>4), and the number of cases > 0.2% of total reports, was used to assess the association of COVID-19 vaccines with cardiovascular events. Results:: A total of 33,754 cases of cardiovascular events associated with COVID-19 vaccines were found in the Cov19VaxKB tool. The cases were observed in different age groups (18-64, and 65 years and above) and gender. The disproportionality measures indicate a statistically significant association between cardiovascular events and COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusion:: The current study identified a signal of various cardiovascular events with the COVID-19 vaccines. However, further causality assessment is required to confirm the association.