Reporting Adverse Vaccine Events

The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) is an early warning system designed to help the CDC and FDA monitor health problems that may occur following vaccination. It is a passive reporting system, which means it relies on individuals to send in reports of their experiences. Anyone, including parents and patients, can submit a report of an adverse event (possible side effect) to VAERS. In fact, VAERS encourages reporting even if it is not clear that the vaccine caused the adverse event.

There are two ways to report to VAERS. You can either report online (VAERS - Report an Adverse Event Step 1 (hhs.gov)) or you can download a writable PDF form and then upload the completed document on the VAERS website.

Reporting any adverse events to VAERS is integral in maintaining accurate and reliable information and data concerning the efficacy of vaccinations, and timely reporting of post-vaccination health issues provides important information for vaccine safety monitoring. VAERS reports are kept confidential and no personal identifying information is made available to the public; however, after a report is received, the patient may be contacted by VAERS for further information.