Association of Ocular Adverse Events With Inactivated COVID-19 Vaccination in Patients in Abu Dhabi

Abstract

s of March 2021, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused 35 million infections and more than 1 million deaths worldwide, leading to the urgent demand for a vaccine. 1 To date, 2 inactivated vaccine candidates have been reported to protect against SARS-CoV-2. The inactivated COVID-19 vaccine by Sinopharm's China National Biotec Group is mixed with aluminum-based adjuvant and has been found tolerable and immunogenic in healthy people with 2 doses administered 21 days apart. 2 As of March 2021, the United Arab Emirates Ministry of Health and Prevention announced that the United Arab Emirates had crossed 2 million doses of the Sinopharm inactivated vaccine (20% of the population). We hereby present a case series of ocular adverse events presenting at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates after receiving the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine. MethodsRetrospective consecutive case series, adherent to the reporting guidelines, 3 of patients presenting at the retina and uveitis service from September 2020 to January 2021 were performed in accordance with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki. 4 The institutional review board of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi waived the need for approval of a case series of fewer than 10 patients. Written informed consent was obtained from all enrolled individuals.The main inclusion criterion was the development of ocular symptoms within 15 days from the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. Each patient underwent Snellen best-corrected visual acuity (BCVA) that was then converted to logMAR and IMPORTANCE As vaccinations against COVID-19 continue, potential ocular adverse events should be reported in detail to increase awareness among the medical community, although typically, a causal relationship cannot be established definitively.OBJECTIVE To describe ocular adverse events that occur soon after receiving an inactivated COVID-19 vaccination (Sinopharm). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSThis case series took place from September 2020 to January 2021 at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, a tertiary referral center. Patients who reported ocular adverse events and presented within 15 days from the first of 2 doses of an inactivated COVID-19 vaccine were analyzed. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESEach patient underwent Snellen best-corrected visual acuity that was then converted to logMAR, applanation tonometry, and biomicroscopic examination with indirect ophthalmoscopy. Color fundus photography was obtained with a conventional 9-field fundus photography camera or with a widefield fundus photography system. Optical coherence tomography and optical coherence tomographic angiography images were obtained. Sex, race, age, and clinical data were self-reported.RESULTS Nine eyes of 7 patients (3 male individuals) presenting with ocular complaints following COVID-19 vaccine were included in the study. The mean (SD) age was 41.4 (9.3) years (range, 30-55 years); the mean best-corrected visual acuity was 0.23 logMAR (range, 0-1 logMAR; approximate Snellen equivalent, 20/32). The mean time of ocular adv...

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