Understanding Ocular Inflammation After COVID-19 Vaccination
Featuring Research by Dr. Akshay Thomas, Meredith Parker and Lish Nore of Tennessee Retina
Tennessee Retina is proud to share that our very own Dr. Akshay Thomas ,and part of our Uveitis team, Meredith Parker and Lish Nore were contributing authors in a recently published multicenter study featured in Retina (June 2025 issue), titled "The Heterogeneous Presentations of De Novo and Recurrent Ocular Inflammation After COVID-19 Vaccination." Read Abstract HERE
What the study explored:
• A retrospective analysis across multiple centers between 2020 and 2021.
• Focused on patients who developed ocular inflammation within 42 days of receiving a COVID-19 vaccine.
• Included both patients with no prior uveitis (de novo) and those with a history of uveitis (recurrent).
Key Findings:
• 55 eyes in 39 patients were identified with post-vaccination inflammation.
• The most common diagnosis was anterior uveitis.
• Among the de novo group, 27.2% tested positive for HLA-B27, a marker associated with inflammation—a notably higher rate than in the general population.
• Encouragingly, most cases were mild and treatable with either observation or corticosteroids.
• Only 0.85% of patients with previously stable uveitis experienced a flare post-vaccination.
Why this matters:
The study offers important reassurance that ocular inflammation after COVID-19 vaccination is rare, typically mild, and treatable—with no evidence to discourage vaccination. Dr. Thomas and colleagues continue to lead in advancing our understanding of complex retinal conditions.
