Temporary arm soreness and stiffness following vaccination is common, but on rare occasions the pain can become chronic. In those rare cases, the pain may gradually get worse over time and be accompanied by loss of range of motion in the shoulder. This is known as shoulder injury related to vaccine administration (SIRVA). The shoulder pain typically begins within 48 hours of vaccination and does not improve with over-the-counter pain medicine. Patients may initially delay seeking treatment under the assumption that the pain will resolve on its own. They may seek treatment months later due to limitations in their ability to carry out activities of daily living. Diagnoses commonly associated with SIRVA include bursitis, rotator cuff tears, and adhesive capsulitis. 

In addition to clinical evidence from case reports, new research provides epidemiologic evidence supporting the association between subdeltoid bursitis after influenza vaccination. See Hesse EM, Navarro RA, Daley MF, Getahun D, Henninger ML, Jackson LA, Nordin J, Olson SC, Zerbo O, Zheng C, Duffy J. Risk for Subdeltoid Bursitis After Influenza Vaccination: A Population-Based Cohort Study. Ann Intern Med. 2020 Aug 18;173(4):253-261. This is an original study performed to estimate the risk for subdeltoid bursitis after influenza vaccination, involving 2,943,493 patients who received an inactivated influenza vaccine during the 2016-2017 influenza season. The investigators determined that an additional 7.78 cases of bursitis occurred during the 3 days after vaccination for every 1 million persons vaccinated. In other words, approximately 1 out of every 130,000 flu vaccine injections resulted in subdeltoid bursitis. The researchers concluded that they identified a small risk for subdeltoid bursitis with new symptom onset after injection of an influenza vaccine and that the study provides epidemiologic evidence of an association that was previously supported by clinical evidence from case reports. 

If you developed any of the above injuries after being vaccinated, please contact Vaccine Injury Lawyers.